New Zealand has a number of metropolitan daily newspapers – from the New Zealand Herald, Waikato Times and DominionPost to The Press and Otago Daily Times. These titles are joined by a plethora of smaller regional newspapers such as Hawkes Bay Today or Timaru Herald.

Precious little competition exists in these regions with most newspapers enjoying a print news monopoly on their readers.

This lack of competition has major implications on quality. Unlike other markets, these newspapers have no rivals nipping at their heels thus no incentive to go that extra mile. Instead, they are content to create a mediocre product with a distinct provincial bias.

So it is time for New Zealand to have its own national daily newspaper which reflects the values and ideals of the country?

Let’s be clear – I’m not talking about the New Zealand Herald - it is not a true national– just a pretender to the title.

Such a paper would symbolise a more mature New Zealand, one which eschews the narrow provincial currency in favour of a national agenda and a global view.

As New Zealand takes its place in the new world order – reeling from the economic meltdown and shaped by both the demands of Asia - our focus should surely be national and global. 

Shouldn’t our concerns be more about our policies for reversing climate change, feeding the world and restoring political order in Afghanistan and Iraq.? Does it really matter that a cat got stuck up a tree in Adelaide Road last Tuesday?

Would we not be served better by a paper that examines the national relevance of local stories?

New Zealand politicians and business leaders regularly preach the benefits of the national interest – why not a paper for the nation?

Economics would be the ultimate test for a national daily newspaper. Not withstanding the fact that New Zealanders are stubbornly loyal to their newspapers, could a population of four million sustain a national title?

Another serious consideration is the consumer. Surveys suggest both subscribers and casual readers demand local content.

But as younger readers turn away from traditional media, to blogs, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, newspapers must rise to the challenge and produce a more sophisticated product. In the world of fast, instant breaking news, comprehensive and authoritative comment and analysis is absent. This is the niche newspapers must fill to survive.

Gen Y is less interested in the parish pump and more inclined to seek out a wider view. In the digital world there is no local – your friends, acquaintances and even colleagues are in many time zones and post codes.

A national newspaper, with its economies of scale, influence, brand and power, may provide the much-needed boost the media industry needs.