The Truth is (still) out there Malakai fights battle of the bulge
Archives looking for a home, writes Hamish McNicol.
The owner of controversial tabloid Truth has gone belly-up after a dispute with an adult entertainment company, leaving behind more than 200 binders of newspapers dating from 1932.
Truth, more recently known as Truth Weekender, stopped publishing in mid-2013 after more than 125 years. Controversial blogger Cameron Slater had been appointed editor in October, 2012.
A company called Truth Weekender went into liquidation shortly afterwards, but last month Truth masthead owner Multimedia Solutions also went into liquidation.
Multimedia Solutions was coowned by interests associated with Matthew Horton and Dermot Malley.
Apollo Marketing and Advertising, operated by Roy Kingsnorth and described in court papers as an adult marketing and advertising business, had applied to liquidate the Truth owner.
Waterstone Insolvency was appointed liquidator, and insolvency officer Daniel Yee said there had been a dispute between the two companies relating to the $50,000 sale of Apollo’s Adultspace website, an adult entertainment directory, to Multimedia Solutions in late 2011.
Court documents recovered by Waterstone showed Adultspace was set up as a companion to Truth’s weekly adult entertainment guide, and the sale included an agreement to provide free advertising to Kingsnorth’s brothel, The Pelican Club.
After Truth stopped publishing, however, Apollo claimed it had broken the contract, and claimed damages. When liquidation proceedings began earlier this year, Apollo said it was owed more than $128,000.
Yee said the only assets he had been able to find at Multimedia Solutions were the Truth web domain, which was ‘‘worthless’’, as well as the back catalogue of Truth and Truth Weekender stretching back to 1932.
These newspapers, kept in more than 200 binders and a few boxes, were mostly in good condition.
He would shortly begin contacting libraries and collectors to see if anybody wanted the newspapers.
The front page of the earliest edition in the collection, published on January 7, 1932, featured a story about jail being the best place for shiftless husbands who would not work.
By March, 2012, the front-page headlines included ‘‘Mob looks for backup stash’’ and ‘‘B .... is back’’. As a young man growing up in Tonga, All Black Malakai Fekitoa used to binge on sugary soft drinks and fatty takeaways.
‘‘Coming from the Islands I used to love sugar, everything had to be fizzy.
‘‘At school I drank fizzy drinks and ate takeaways – but I got away with it because I trained a lot.’’
But a body fat test at 19 provided a wake-up call, with rugby coaches telling him he needed to drastically alter his lifestyle.
So he cut out junk food and cut back from half a loaf to one or two pieces of bread. He even gave up his favourite food, banana bread.
‘‘They tested again and my body fat had gone down.’’
Fekitoa, who has played 22 test matches is touring with the All Blacks in Europe.
Speaking out to coincide with Diabetes Action Month, he says diabetes is a bit of a taboo subject in the small Tonga village where he grew up.
‘‘I didn’t know much about diabetes. In my culture most Islanders, and my family – some of my brothers and sisters – are not into training or don’t know much about what to eat and what not to eat. I want to help them.
‘‘When I go home they say to me ‘Why don’t you eat, why lose weight?’ They think it’s normal to be big,’’ says Fekitoa, who is one of 14 siblings.
‘‘I’m worried about my family, that’s where I want to start, I want to help them first and set a good example for others to follow.’’
Fekitoa, 24, reckons everyone, no matter what age or stage, can take small steps to a healthier lifestyle.
His advice is to make a start, set some goals, try to achieve them and then set some more.
‘‘Remember what you are going through is worth it. You’re going to see a result in your body and health, and when you do it will be worth it.’’
Fekitoa, has been candid in the past about his own experiences, and it is in his work as ambassador for Diabetes New Zealand, that he wants to once again use his voice to reach out to all New Zealanders, especially the Pacific Island community, to encourage them to lead healthier lifestyles.