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New joint home for sister weekly titles

A weekly title in Somerset has abandoned its office in the centre of its patch to move in with a sister title nearly ten miles away.

The Somerset Guardian and Somerset Standard are now both being housed in the Midsomer Norton office which was until recently the home of the just the Guardian.

Parent company Northcliffe Media has decided to close the Somerset Standard’s office in Frome, nearly ten miles away, after the lease expired.

But managers insist the two titles will retain their independence and will continue to serve two different patches.

Sam Holliday, editor-in-chief of Western Newspapers, told HoldtheFrontPage: “We’re not merging the papers – all that’s happened is that we’ve closed the Frome office.

“The two newspapers are still remaining independent and no jobs have been lost except one receptionist.

“Like a lot of branch offices, we felt we could combine the two teams but continue to do separate papers.

“They are two independent titles but are always referred to together.

“The lease for the Frome office was coming up and we had to review whether to keep the office open.

“The papers will continue to serve different patches.”

Comments

Hilary Jones (24/11/2008 11:51:59)
Another nail in the coffin of proper local journalism? Where will Frome people go now to drop in their want ads and their story tips?