A regional daily’s coverage of the closure of the SSI-run steel plant in Redcar has attracted interest from national broadcasters.

The Teesside Gazette website was first to announce the mothballing of the plant online on Monday and the paper’s ‘Save Our Steel’ front page on Tuesday was featured on ITV’s News At Ten that evening.

As well as more than 30 separate pieces of content about the closure on the day, the paper also commissioned op-ed pieces from key players in the area while its website ran a live blog on the crisis.

The coverage has helped the Gazette’s SSI tag rank only behind its Middlesbrough FC pages on the site.

Gazette managing director Bob Cuffe said: “Steelmaking defines Teesside – and the mothballing of the blast furnace, and the loss of 1,700 skilled jobs, is devastating news.

“The Gazette’s coverage throughout has been superb – owning the debate in print and online, participating in the Government Task Force, and in contact with all of the key players to try and engineer the best outcome for Teesside.

“The Gazette is a participant in the regeneration of Teesside – not just a commentator on events, but an influencer of outcomes, and our participation in the steel drama is an example of this.”

The Northern Echo has also run a ‘Save Our Steel’ campaign over recent weeks and featured the closure with a black and white wraparound on Tuesday’s edition.