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Publisher seeks buyer in bid to save newspaper from closure

A regional publisher is seeking a buyer for one of its weekly newspapers in a bid to save it from closure after 168 years of publication.

The CN Group plans to shut the Eskdale & Liddesdale Advertiser next month, but it hopes to find a “community benefactor” to take over the title before then.

The Advertiser, which has an editorial staff of two, was established in 1848 and currently has a paid-for circulation of 1,200 copies in and around the town of Langholm, in the Scottish Borders.

CN, which bought the newspaper in 2000, is now offering the title for sale for what it calls a “nominal amount.”

The office of the Advertiser

The office of the Advertiser

The Carlisle-based group, which publishes two daily newspapers and several other weeklies, has opened a formal consultation with the three members of staff who could be affected by its closure.

A statement from the company reads: “This announcement sadly places three members of staff at risk of redundancy. This is absolutely no reflection on the staff or the quality of the paper.

“Despite the best efforts of the team, the E&L has not been in profit for some time.

“We are hopeful that a community benefactor might come forward and take the paper into the future in a way that we feel unable to.

“If a buyer isn’t forthcoming we are proposing that the last edition of the newspaper will be Wednesday 14 December.”

Anyone interested in buying the paper can contact Gill Wilson, PA to CN Group chief executive Miller Hogg, on (01228) 612286.

4 comments

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  • November 10, 2016 at 9:48 am
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    sad to see such an old paper dying and staff losing jobs but its circulation is very low. Looks like it might need heavy subsidy.

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  • November 10, 2016 at 11:08 am
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    Perhaps another media group that is in the news today might look at this route rather than close loss-making/struggling titles?

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  • November 10, 2016 at 11:21 am
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    A bit surprised it hasn’t been snapped up by Sir Ray Tindle, who I am sure would be able to find a nominal sum to keep it going.

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  • November 10, 2016 at 4:13 pm
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    Very sad news – but at least they are giving someone a chance to make a go of it, rather than just shutting it and making the redundancies.

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