Warwick George Roger (21 August 1945 – 17 August 2018) was a New Zealand journalist who founded ''

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

'' magazine. He was one of New Zealand's leading journalists during the late 20th century, and his ''Metro'' magazine was the first of its kind in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, with its campaigning journalism, long opinionated articles, publishing of long letters to the editor in full, no matter the viewpoint, and general celebration of glitz, gossip and conspicuous consumption. It reflected the times of the 1980s and early 90s. Roger was a keen cricket fan and a marathon runner, who also wrote a gossip column called "Felicity Ferret" which could border on the cruel, and it brought him a defamation lawsuit in 1994, costing the magazine $100,000, and heralding the ferret's demise. He was a mentor to many journalists. In the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours, Roger was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to journalism. Roger died of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

in 2018 at the age of 72.

References

1945 births 2018 deaths New Zealand journalists Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand editors New Zealand magazine editors {{NZ-bio-stub