Fairfax Media has dumped its Penrith City Star brand, effective immediately.
The Western Weekender understands that Fairfax will re-launch their local Penrith product as the Penrith City Gazette from this Thursday.
It ends the Star‘s short-lived stint as a sports-focused newspaper. It is also likely to end Fairfax’s attempt to dominate the local real estate market, with the ‘flip’ concept not expected to feature in the new product.
The massive overhaul comes just five years after the Star switched from Tuesdays to Thursdays, which was the last major shake-up of the publication.
Domain registration records show that Fairfax Media owns the http://www.penrithcitygazette.com.au domain name, though no website currently exists.
Once called the Fairfax Sun Penrith Edition, the Star was also once known as the Penrith District Star.
The Star currently has a circulation of 47,488 according to the latest figures released by the Circulations Audit Bureau. The Western Weekender has an audited circulation figure of 59,067.
Fairfax Media was contacted for comment, but declined to speak about the change.
The Star made no reference to the change in its most recent edition.
