A weekly free paper which has reported on news from a seaside town for 10 years has published its final edition.
The Worthing Sentinel started life as a monthly publication inside Brighton’s The Argus before becoming a stand-alone monthly, then a weekly title.
But it has now ceased publication, with its last edition hitting the streets on 13 October.
Editor Paul Holden, who was the only journalist working on the Newsquest title, is understood to have been made redundant.
A tribute to the Sentinel and to Paul’s role as editor has been published on the Doctor WatsOn website, which reports on events taking place in West Sussex.
It says: “Paul Holden, the man that created this unique publication and its editor, was always championing the town and adopted a very a positive editorial approach – something sadly missing in many local papers across the land.
“Paul will be remembered for such things are organising the annual charity ‘fruit flinging’ extravaganza on the seafront, to commemorate the SS Indiana running aground in March 1901, spewing her cargo – tens of thousands of oranges and lemons, and the annual appeal for the donation of flags to decorate the promenade.
“Readers will also remember the often re-published photo of Paul marching across London Bridge with his sandwich board and placard proclaiming ‘There’s no smog in Sunny Worthing’ and ‘Visit Worthing, it’s a Sunny Delight’ to promote the town.”
Paul also used to file regular reports from Worthing and the wider area for The Argus.
Around three or four years ago, the Sentinel was combined with the Property Weekly title to be turned from a monthly to a weekly paper.
Michael Beard, group editor at Newsquest Sussex, declined to comment on the closure of the title.
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Michael Beard, group editor at Newsquest Sussex, declined to comment on the closure of the title. Attaboy!
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The loss of Paul Holden sums up Newsquest. A district reporter who knew his patch and whose experience should have been invaluable to the floundering Argus. Possibly too dear to run even at pitiful Newsquest rates? The Argus might as well be honest and pull out of the rest of Sussex and stick with Brighton and its saturation (yawn) coverage of every blister and sore ankle at Brighton and Hove Albion.
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We are still making considerable amounts of money – stop sacking people then please
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Michael Beard, group editor at Newsquest Sussex, declined to comment on the closure of the title. Yet again, a pathetic lack of accountability. Time and time again journalists and editors get on their high horse if a councillor or whoever refuses to comment but whenever it involves their own people, they put up the shutters. It makes us all look like complete idiots. Sometimes I wonder why anyone would speak to a newspaper.
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A good dose of flu this winter will wipe out a lot of local papers staff-wise. One man (woman) and a dog (Atex) is the norm now.
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madashell: very funny if it wasn’t tragically true. Many hacks are reduced to the pathetic level of dropping in press releases into shapes not even re-written. It doesn’t get any worse than that.
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thanks confederate. I hadn’t though of that brilliant time-saving idea. Must forget all that stuff an old hack told me on a weekly once about not taking press releases at face value and doing a bit of research. Poor man wouldn’t last five minutes today.
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Worthing has lost a fine publication and a true champion of Worthing. Let us all hope that a Sentinel Phoenix raises from the ashes. Thousands of residents are going to miss their favourite read! The Argus is truly now just a Brighton Paper.
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Worthing? My God I was born and bred in London and I really do miss…London
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