The Dorset Echo has given itself a new look, with a distinctive new masthead.

As part of a gradual “tidy up” of the paper, it has replaced its small green corner masthead with one which sweeps along the top of the entire front page.

The new-look Echo

Editor David Murdock said the old masthead – which had been used since 1978 – was “very tired looking”.

He said: “It was definitely time for a change and so we spent time trialling new mastheads and deciding on the right one.

“We proofed a few variations and put a couple on the press.

“The old masthead had very much come to the end of its life.”

The old masthead

Although the masthead had last been changed in 1978, the Echo has had several makeovers throughout its 86-year history.

When the first edition of the Echo – then known as the Dorset Daily Echo and Weymouth Dispatch – first rolled off the press on Saturday, May 28, 1921, the four-page paper had an elegant masthead in two lines.

To see Echo editor David Murdock talking about the change, click here.