The latest ABC figures are out and show a mixture of circulation increases and falls among the regional press.

What have regional newspapers been doing to attract and retain readers?

Weekly newspaper editors and executives have their say:

Hackney Gazette (up 9.8 per cent)

Richard Thomson, group managing editor for Archant London: "When we acquired the former Independent News & Media titles in September 2004 we quickly realised that the Hackney Gazette was no longer wholly relevant to the area it serves.

"Editor Mick Ferris and his team ensured that the newspaper gradually evolved into a far more relevant and exciting product. Together with the efforts of the circulation team they ensured that the revitalisation of the Hackney Gazette has definitely been a success story."

Worksop Guardian (up 9.4 per cent)

George Robinson, editor: "We took one of our free newspaper titles covering the neighbouring South Yorkshire area, just over the border from Worksop in North Notts, and turned it into a full-blown 80-page paid-for edition of the Worksop Guardian.

"This, combined with our usual meticulous approach to reporting on local issues in great depth, has resulted in a large sales surge for the Guardian and continues our impressive year-on-year rises during the past six years."

Newbury Weekly News (up 1.3 per cent)

Adrian Martin, managing director said: "After 137 years as a broadsheet the Newbury Weekly News changed its format in January 2005. It provided an opportunity and a focus for everyone within the company to make our newspaper better in every respect.

"It also provided the chance for a top to toe review of everything the newspaper does from our approach to gathering news to use of pictures to page design and from advertising page weighting to production quality."

Bridport and Lyme Regis News (up 1.3 per cent)

Holly Robinson, editor: "An important factor in our success has been to take control of what we are putting out and where. We brought distribution back in-house to give us closer control and to make sure copies were going to the right places.

"We've also introduced more colour pictures, increased our sports coverage each week both in volume and the number of sports we cover, and made subtle changes to the look and flow of the paper.

Newsquest Wales

Heulwen Phillips, deputy newspaper sales manager: "The Free Press series comprises four editions covering quite diverse areas and given the broad mix of readers, varying editorial strategies are used, ie. if an area favours sport whilst another favours culture we will aim to give our readers in those areas what they want."

Celtic Newspapers Group

Simon Farrington, editor-in-chief: "The Merthyr Express and Rhymney Valley Express (up 7.4 per cent) have both gone from strength to strength in the first six months of the year.

"Bringing the production day forward 24 hours, extending the reach of the paper further down the Rhymney Valley and strengthening the news values of the paper have all contributed to the success."

Denbigshire Free Press (up 2.1 per cent)

Graham Breeze, publishing editor: "The good results are due to a continuation of good hard coverage coupled with a local feel. The paper is very community based which gives readers exactly what they want.

"We took a brave decision a couple of years ago to turn the publication from a free to a paid for newspaper, a decision which has paid off. Because of this decision we won national awards and have also been rewarded by the continuing rise in circulation. Our success is also due to our staff.

Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser (up 2.2 per cent)

Kevin McRoberts, editor: "We have a very good reporting team who focus on local issue that really matter to the community.

"We haven't done anything different in terms of launching new products, it's just the quality of the team and reporting on issues close to the community."

Gravesend Messenger (down 2.8 per cent)

Sandra Hembery, editor said: "We've had a redesign of the paper, so hopefully that will have had some effect, and we've also started poly-bagging, so all the inserts come in one bag.

"For us, the main aim is to get the front pages singing and to make sure the content has a mix of everything, from hard news towards the front of the paper, to the established regulars, the community pieces and reader competitions. In effect, we're trying to target as many people as we can."

Eastbourne Gazette Series (up 0.9 per cent)

Peter Austin, editor: "Much of the paper's success is due to maintaining a very localised service. There are a lot of change pages across the series comprising the Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford editions and these are all seen very much as the community newspapers of those towns.

"This mid-week series which goes on sale every Wednesday is a hard news top-up full of local news, sport and pictures from the weekend covering the markets they serve prior to the publication of the bigger pagination Eastbourne Herald published every Friday."

Standard & Guardian Weekly Group, Somerset (Standard up 10.3 per cent/Guardian down 5.8 per cent)

Mark Stroud, circulation director: "The Somerset Standard series is up 814 copies or 10.27 per cent for Jan-June, which was largely due to the launch of a new edition, namely the Warminster and Westbury Standard in July last year.

"The new edition was a direct result of market research, which showed a gap in the market. During the ABC period the average weekly sale of the edition was 1,036 copies. We are currently working very hard with retailers to increase both casual sales and home deliveries in the area."

Scottish & Universal Newspapers

Allan McMillan, newspaper sales manager: "We are delighted that six of our titles are showing sales gains. This is largely down to strong local stories coupled with first-class reporting and presentation.This has resulted in consistent sales through the majority of the ABC period.

"Having said that, we are not complacent. It is evident that in an ever increasing competitive marketplace we need to continue to develop our products and promote at the highest level."

The Isle of Wight County Press (up 0.3 per cent)

Brian Dennis, editor: "The County Press has a very loyal readership. We provide good coverage of a wide variety of local events and issues, big and small which our readers like to see. Earlier in the year we launched a new Sports and Entertainments section, which has has proved very popular."

Grantham Journal (up 1.3 per cent)

Nick Woodhead, editor: "What is pleasing is that this is not a one off, but is the 20th successive increase for the Journal. At the Grantham Journal we have a trend of increases during difficult periods, where they haven't been so readily available.

"We are indebted to a loyal readership and I also believe that we have a very good product. We are very much community based, which sounds like a cliché but is none the less true. We don't produce a newpaper for journalists but one for the readership."

Rotherham Advertiser (up 2.1per cent)

Doug Melloy, editor: "We believe we are very close to our readers and understand their worries. As a result we get many ring-ins from readers asking the Advertiser to take up complaints and concerns on their behalf on a wide range of issues."

Powys County Times and Express (up two per cent)

Martin Wright, editor: "We have achieved this by continuing to focus on the traditional strengths of the paper which is local news, local sport, local faces and local features.

"We have also made constant efforts to improve the product that we are putting out. We had a re-launch approximately two years ago and this success is the result of that change.

"Our success is down to the hard work put in by all the staff involved in the paper, from our dedicated team of reporters and photographers, through to our excellent newspaper sales team."

Watford Observer (up 5.1 per cent)

Peter Bennett, newspaper sales manager: "The Watford Observer had been a broadsheet for 140 years and in week 37 of last year it changed to tabloid. This was this was the result of an extensive market research programme.

"The new format, excellent content and very strong front pages coupled with effective copy management, placement, merchandising and a robust replenishment strategy producing high availability, have delivered a strong performance.

"Starting from a deficit of 4.4 per cent in week 36 during ABC period Jul-Dec 04 just prior to the compact launch, during the remaining 15 actively purchased weeks to the ABC period end, we managed to turn an adverse ABC sales figure into a positive one by 0.2 per cent."

Gazette and Herald (up 1.5 per cent)

Chris Buxton, editor: "We have worked hard to enhance the content and structure of the paper, making design improvements as we went along. We also adopted a slightly harder news stance, with an emphasis on the use of bigger pictures to increase impact.

"The team work element involved close co-operation with the newspaper sales and promotions departments to raise the paper's profile. Big improvements were made in the billing operation, and pro-active promotional ideas saw themed competitions and reader offers, plus money-off vouchers to top attractions included in the front page blurb to increase impulse purchase."

Click here to hear what daily newspaper editors had to say...

Back to the Analysis index