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Regional press embraces Newspaper Week

Regional newspapers all over the country removed some of the mystery surrounding the industry as they reached out to their readers for Local Newspaper Week.

The event, run by the Newspaper Society, celebrates the work carried out by the industry on a day-to-day basis.

Features included showing how stories make it onto the printed page, explaining successful editorial campaigns, introducing staff to the readers and showcasing the publishing portfolios of local papers.

The Grimsby Telegraph was more adventurous – exchanging stories with Nordsee-Zeitung, the newspaper that covers twin town Bremerhaven. Now readers from both towns know more about their neighbours across the North Sea.

The Bristol Evening Post focused on newsroom assistant, Ayesha Gilani, who grew up reading local newspapers and is keen to make her mark as a journalist. She spent the week looking at inspirational young people from the area and reporting positive news.

The Newcastle Journal took a look back at the exclusives, campaigns and pictures brought to readers over the past year. It also sent the Press Express liveried double decker bus out on the road where hundreds of people found out more about their local paper.

Readers of the Peterborough Evening Telegraph were given the story behind the headlines, with a spread to show how each part of the team – from sales through to editorial, production and the newsagent – is vital in bringing home the news.

The Derby Telegraph highlighted it’s many campaigns and also showed where it had raised thousands of pounds for good causes.

And the Lincolnshire Echo recalled the story of how a reader became chairman of the local football club, Lincoln City FC, after a campaign in the paper to save the club from extinction.

The Hull Daily Mail explained how half of its newsroom comprised local people and showed their recent academic and journalistic success. Many of the staff are working on the newspaper they read as youngsters.

Meanwhile the Gloucestershire Echo went in for some number crunching to explain that there are 200 staff, 300 newspaper delivery boys and girls. Some 24,845 copies are sold each day and the paper receives more than 100 picture orders each week. It requires 22 tons of paper each week and more than two-thirds of the readers have lived in the area for more than 20 years.

During Local Newspaper Week, last week, the Queen also took the opportunity to comment on how the newspapers’ traditional role of serving the community has never been more important than it is today.

She said: “It seems to me that people need a sense of community, a sense of belonging, now more than ever, and that regional newspapers help to meet that need”.

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©NEP 2002