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Publisher launches weekly free to complement regional daily

ian-savageA new weekly free newspaper designed to complement a sister regional daily is set to launch on Friday.

Newsquest has announced the launch of The Post, which will be available in areas of East Lancashire covered by the Blackburn-based Lancashire Telegraph.

The free Post will be distributed to 10,000 homes will concentrate on human interest-style news stories and features from the more affluent areas of the Telegraph’s patch.

It will cover districts such as Darwen, Feniscowles, Lammack, Langho, Mellor, Pleasington, Pleckgate, Rishton, Wilpshire and Whalley.

The Post will promote the Telegraph and feature snippets of business, nostalgia, entertainments, fashion, travel, health and education coverage from the newspaper.

It follows the launch of a similar title in Bolton in February last year called the Bolton Post, which is a sister free weekly to the Bolton News.

Newsquest North West group editor Ian Savage, pictured above left, who oversaw the launch of both papers, said: “The Post gives us the opportunity to reach a wider audience and new readers, as well as promote our daily newspapers.

“The Post is significantly different to the dailies – it has no crime, court, council or sport coverage which the daily titles cover in excellent fashion already.

“Instead, it gives readers news about people and events in their areas, at the same time enabling advertisers to reach new customers.”

In November 2014, Newsquest North West ceased publication of free weekly the Burnley Citizen to be replaced by a free Burnley edition of the Telegraph once a week.

The Post’s launch comes a fortnight after Johnston Press-owned daily the Lancashire Evening Post, in neighbouring Preston, announced it would be changing its name to the Lancashire Post later this month.

The LEP currently covers Feniscowles and Pleasington but it is not thought that the two papers’ circulations will overlap in any other areas.