Central Queensland Today, branded as CQ Today, is a weekly independent Australian newspaper serving the city of Rockhampton and its surrounds in Central Queensland.[1]
The newspaper was first mooted following News Corp Australia's decision in May 2020 to stop publishing the city's daily newspaper, The Morning Bulletin as a print edition, moving it to an entirely online format.[2][3]
CQ Today was launched as a 72-page publication on 27 August 2020 with a cover price of $3.[4][5] It had intended to be launched on 13 August 2020 but the first issue was delayed by two weeks.[citation needed]
At its launch, there was a team of seven Rockhampton-based employees working at CQ Today, consisting of three journalists, an account manager, an advertising manager, a sales and marketing executive and a general manager.[4][5][6]
Owned by Pakenham-based Star News Group, CQ Today is published in Townsville.[2]
With a strong focus on community-orientated good news stories, the newspaper also publishes regular opinion and lifestyle columns written by local Central Queensland personalities.[5][7] Regular columns include "Current Affairs" with Matt Canavan and Robert Schwarten, "Styles of CQ" with Jacquie Mackay, "Gardening" with Neil Fisher, "Weather" with Mike Griffin, "Rural Matters" and "Fishing".[5][7] The newspaper also has weekly letters to the editor, entertainment, real estate, classifieds and sport pages.[5][7]