A newspaper boss who helped launch one of the country’s biggest free titles has announced he is stepping down from his position after 20 years at the helm.
Steve Allsopp, left, helped set up the Nottingham Topper in 1994 with free newspaper pioneer Lionel Pickering.
Now he is set to leave his position at the end of next month after two decades at the West Bridgford-based title.
The Topper was bought by Northcliffe Media in 2o12 and is now part of Local World, which also owns city daily the Nottingham Post.
Steve described The Topper, which has a circulation of 147,396 as a “well received” title but he says it is time to move on after 20 years.
“The standards I have set here at The Topper have ensured our position as Nottingham’s No.1,” he told HTFP.
“I will miss my team here and the senior management teams that have been very supportive and allowed The Topper to be an important integral product within the Nottingham portfolio.
“Over the 20 years, we became the largest weekly newspaper in the United Kingdom and what a journey it was.”
Steve started his career at as a circulation rep before moving into advertising with the Nottingham Recorder.
He left in 1989 to become national telesales manager at Allied Industrial Work Wear in Bradford.
Steve returned to work at the Nottingham Herald and Nottingham Post before launching The Topper in 1994.
He says he is now on the look out for the next big challenge and is very open to suggestions. “I believe cream always floats,” he added.
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What a nice, modest quote in the last par.
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Steve did great job there although I think to claim credit for “starting” the papers and managing them for 20 years seems a little odd. There was a publisher abd two general managers above him when I was there. To not credit them at all is a bit off to me. Good luck for the future though. I welcome a correction.
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Thanks for the comment – ‘ former Topper Sales ‘ – it was indeed myself who launched the paper with Janet Hollingsworth – General Manager, before our previous director joined ( In those days i was Advertising Manager ) – so if you were an employee from the start you would know that 😉 both General Managers did an exceptional job – this statement wasn’t about who did what or when – this statement wasn’t about credit to the former senior staff – it was a statement in support of the 21 years I have been with the publication.- the credit goes to all the Topper Staff who made the Topper No.1 …
Thank you for the good wishes though ! …. 😉
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No-one can doubt the talent and commitment of any of the above people – Steve, Alice, Janet and Audrey – and that’s what made the Topper so successful and a lovely place to work. The reason it became Britain’s top free weekly is because all the staff, from managers down, worked hard to attract advertisers and make the paper stand out. They took a genuine personal interest in the business too. Morale was high, sickness days were rare and many staff worked there for years because we all knew how to have a laugh too.
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