Trinity Mirror has decided to close one of its offices in south west Scotland.

The lease on the home of the Galloway News, in Castle Douglas, will not be renewed when it expires later in the year.

Around eight staff affected by the move will be relocated to nearby Dumfries, approximately 19 miles away.

A statement from Trinity Mirror said: “We remain committed to the Galloway News which will continue to serve the local community.

“However, due to the ongoing challenging trading environment Scottish and Universal Newspapers Ltd have taken the decision not to extend the lease on the Castle Douglas office.

“As a result employees currently based there will relocate to new purpose-built offices in Dumfries later in the year.”

Comments

Stuart Baillie (29/05/2009 10:07:17)
Is it just me who believes that the declining fortunes of the local press might just be linked to the fact that it isn’t that local anymore. The towns of Castle Douglas, Dalbeattie and Kirkcudbright held the Galloway News dear because it was in the heart of the community it served, how can people drop in for a chat with THEIR local reporters if those reporters are 19 miles away? Yet another sad day for the local press and a great opportunity for the Galloway Gazette to move into territory it has always coveted.

Michael (29/05/2009 10:32:28)
No Stuart, it’s not just you. Local newspapers should be what it says on the tine – local news produced by local reporters who work or live in the patch. That way you gt better news, better content, better invovlement with the community the paper is supposed to serve. But if the CEO is an accountant, forgt it.

Realist (29/05/2009 11:44:14)
Most of us “up north” (don’t know about south) understand cuts will be made (albeit to feed greedy shareholders).
It’s just the usually bull….
you get about continuing to be local. If you haven’t got reporters living on the patch picking up stories you can’t be local- it is as simple as that. You miss too many stories and fill with the three lifebelt Cs- court, council, cops instead of human interest stories.
A pal told me of one local paper that shed local reporters is so desperate for local news it lifts stuff (sometimes word for word) off other papers for its web and freesheet.
Dangerous and desperate times indeed.

Chris Slack (29/05/2009 11:57:40)
My local paper’s website has advertised:
“Have you ever wanted to write for the …. Fancy a spare time hobby that’s fun as well as fulfilling? Want to play a greater role in your local community? We are currently recruiting a network of local correspondents to write for the web. If you like the sound of becoming a correspondent, email ….
Innovative, yes but absolutely bloody shameless attempt to get us to right the news for them.

Col kurtz (29/05/2009 12:40:16)
Should Chris Slack wish to follow a career in community journalism he would do well to learn how to spell

Chris Slack (29/05/2009 13:52:14)
Mr Kurtz(capital letter for a surname – it’s a proper noun)
It may surprise you to learn that I indeed had a short-lived career in the regional press. I did a heck of a lot of unpaid work experience at various local newspapers, whilst undertaking incredibly expensive training.
In the end I didn’t get the job I was after.
The moral lesson for you to take away from this is – if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
If you pay nothing – your subs need to get hold of a dictionary