After a year of growth, as Orkney Today has established itself within the community it serves, the time has come to consolidate, according to editor John Ross Scott.

The title began life a year ago, becoming the county’s first new weekly newspaper to launch in 42 years, and it now sells around 5,400 copies a week (ABC Jan – June 2004).

John said: “The paper is on the up. Circulation is on a par with what we were originally aiming for and is still continuing to build.

“We’re now up to about 5,800 which shows how it has escalated even in a brief period.

“When we started there were seven staff, and that has now almost doubled to 13 through natural progression.

“In the early days we were working round the clock to make ends meet, but it is now paying off.

“The aim now will be to consolidate rather than expand further.”

The current Orkney Today team

Since the first issue of Orkney today hit the streets on October 3 last year the newspaper team has also moved to new offices on the harbour front at Kiln Corner in Kirkwall – boosting morale as its first premises were rather small.

A new state of the art newspaper publishing system has also been installed and new contributors and columnists have been signed up, such as Big Brother 4 winner Cameron Stout, who now writes a weekly motors column.

But despite a successful first year, John says the team will not be resting on its laurels, and a low-key first anniversary will provide the opportunity to introduce new features.

John said: “It’s a case of keeping the paper fresh. We’re always moving forward.

“Feedback from the public has been very positive.

“In the early stages they were coming to the door and putting their thumbs up and not really saying much, but now they come in and see us and tell us how much they like the paper.

“We don’t sensationalise, we tell it like it is and make sure we focus on the news that matters to the people of Orkney.”

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