The UK’s newest paid-for weekly newspaper has hit the presses.

Staff at the Cleethorpes Chronicle enjoyed a successful launch edition yesterday with more than 20,000 copies flying out of the shops.

The normal 45p cover price was waived for the first edition with editor Nigel Lowther inundated with requests from local shops for more copies of the paper.

He said: “It’s gone really well. We’re absolutely delighted with product.

“The reaction from readers and advertisers has just been overwhelming.

“We’re having to re-stock because there are so many editions going out. We cannot get enough editions into the shops and it’s exceeded all our expectations.”

Nigel, a former deputy editor of the Grimsby Telegraph, has set up the Chronicle with Mark Webb, former MD at Grimsby and Scunthorpe Newspapers.

It is the first paid-for weekly newspaper in Cleethorpes since the early 1980s, with Nigel firmly believing there’s a need for the newspaper in the area.

He added: “We’ve said all along we think there’s a market in Cleethorpes for a paid-for title that’s editorially led.

“Hopefully, people will see that we meant what we said.

“The paper’s about the funeral reports and weddings and notices for community meetings that are as important to a lot of people in this town as the front page lead.

“It’s community news. This is how Mark and I believe we can compete with the web and wider media.”

To complete a hectic few weeks for the Chronicle team, there were two launch parties yesterday and an official opening of the paper’s new offices in Cleethorpes town centre.

Comments

sally goodwin (25/03/2008 10:11:28)
Best of Luck to you both -we need more people like you to save our local media from the greedy corporate empires such as Trinity and Northcliffe

David Powell, Ashford Advertiser (25/03/2008 16:48:18)
Good luck from one independent to another!