A regional newspaper will cease daily production today.
Northcliffe-owned The Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph is to move to weekly publication in the ongoing review of the group’s newspaper portfolio.
The change resulted in one compulsory redundancy at the The Telegraph, which has an average daily sale of 16,084 according to the most recent ABC figures.
Other titles dealt the same fate recently include the Torquay Herald Express and the Exeter Express and Echo.
The company said the decision to turn the Telegraph into a once-a-week product is part of a strategy to secure the title’s long-term sustainability.
The first weekly edition of the 74-year-old title, which bosses hope will run to around 140 pages, is due to hit the streets next Thursday, 18 August.
News editor Robert Rowlands said the last 70-page edition would contain a lot of articles looking back at what the paper had done over the years and what campaigns they had launched.
Said Robert: “It also contains contributions from former reporters and how we have served the community over the years and how we will continue to do so in the future.”
He added that the reporting team would remain the same.
Editor Mel Cook previously told HTFP said that readers did not have time to read the paper every day.
In a article published in the Telegraph today he said: “The editorial and advertising teams have been working hard to produce a bumper first edition. The new paper will be crammed with news, sport and features and we welcome a host of advertisers, old and new.
“We are looking forward to seeing the first edition on the news stands next week and would welcome your views.”
The article goes on to say that in the face of declining circulation and advertising revenues, the best way of securing a sustainable future is to become a weekly title.
Next week’s publication will include a monthly Business Telegraph supplement and is expected to total more than 170 pages.
There will also be a chance to win free petrol and an iPad 2. It will also reveal the 200 community groups who have won a share of a £20,000 cash jackpot being given out as part of a Cash For Your Community campaign.
Mark Price, managing director for Grimsby and Scunthorpe Media Group, said advertisers would experience an immediate benefit as a single issue of the weekly would reach a much wider market than any single edition of the current daily publication.
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“Editor Mel Cook previously told HTFP said that readers did not have time to read the paper every day.”
They do have time to read the paper – online and for free.
Why skirt around the issue?
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Editor Mel Cook: “People do not have time to read the newspaper every day. However, they still want to know what’s happening in their area.”
What a load of rubbish. Why did it become a morning publication? To give readers more time to read it!
How did this idiot get the Editor’s job?
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I wouldn’t slam Mel for the decision. ‘That idiot’ is just towing the company line. Why would he not do that? He’ll just be fearing job losses as much as the next man. As a former employee of the Telegraph, I think it’s a shame the paper has taken this decision, but it’s a period of great change in the way we all consume news. I think we have to accept that the majority of stories can be accessed online hours before they appear in print, rendering daily issues more or less out of date. The human interest stories, features and regular letters columns etc still need a place in the community, so I guess it makes sense to bundle all that type of stuff into one, larger weekly issue. I used to work on a weekly newspaper and believe they can be just as popular and successful as their daily counterparts.
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@sunnysideup
Subbing woe.
It’s ‘toeing’ the line
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As long as Nick Cole’s ‘Steelbeat’ column reporting on the local pop scene in Scunthorpe is still in the weekly it should do alright.
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