About The Waikato Advocate

The Waikato Advocate is an independent local news site reporting on the people, places and decisions that shape Hamilton and the Waikato. We are digital-only: every story is published here first, and shared through our social channels.

We work alongside our sister site, The Ngāmotu Advocate, which covers Taranaki. Where a story is shared through that partnership, we say so clearly on the story.

• News — local reporting, police and emergency updates, council decisions and investigations such as our housing and homelessness coverage.
• Opinion — editorials, columns and letters to the editor, always labelled as opinion.
• What's On — events happening around the region.
• Death notices & memorials — free community notices and tributes, reviewed before publication.
• Traffic and weather — live travel times and local forecasts.

We aim to be accurate, fair and clear. We attribute information to its source, name the organisations and officials we quote, and link to official sources where we can. News and opinion are kept separate, and opinion pieces carry the writer's name.

Every story is checked by a person before it is published. Where we use tools to help draft routine material, a member of our team reviews and edits it — nothing goes live without human sign-off.

When we get something wrong, we fix it and say so. Corrections are noted on the story itself, and significant corrections may also be highlighted on the site. To report an error, email news@waikatoadvocate.co.nz.

The Waikato Advocate is funded by reader koha, classifieds, local sponsorship and display advertising. Advertisers and sponsors have no say over our journalism. Advertising is always shown separately from editorial content and is never presented as news.

Interested in reaching Waikato readers? See advertising with us, or support our kaupapa with a koha.

Newsroom: news@waikatoadvocate.co.nz
Story tips: tips@waikatoadvocate.co.nz

Read our privacy notice and terms & conditions.