An award-winning free newspaper in Somerset is to close this week with the loss of seven jobs.

The Weston & Worle News, which won the free newspaper of the year title at last year’s EDF Energy South West Media Awards, will cease publication after this week’s edition due out on Thursday.

The seven people who will be losing their jobs as a result include three reporting staff.

Other editorial and commercial staff who worked on the title are being redeployed within Northcliffe-owned North Somerset News and Media.

The Weston & Worle News, which has a circulation of 38,289, is one of the titles which until last week was produced from the company’s Clevedon centre.

However, the Bridgewater Times and Burnham and Highbridge Times will now be produced from Wells while it is proposed that from next month the Clevedon Mercury will be put together from Bristol.

The proposal will mean at least ten staff relocating from Clevedon to Bristol, while more are understood to be considering their situation.

Bristol News & Media managing director Dawna Stickler said: “It is a very sad day when newspapers close and we have looked very hard at alternative measures to try and prevent this decision.”

Comments

Bob Bowen (10/02/2009 10:24:12)
Sad to see another paper bite the dust. Having worked the freelance snapper of the Weston and Worle for all its 23 years, my wife Claire and I were the original editorial staff, it will leave a hole in my life as well as my income. Freelances don’t count in the official figures but in effect it’s 8 redundancies