The recently-appointed editor of a regional daily pledged it would “place itself at the centre of the debate” during a speech to mark its 135th anniversary.
Mike Gilson, who took up his role with Brighton daily The Argus six weeks ago, addressed more than 100 guests at a lunch held at the city’s Grand Hotel to mark the occasion.
He told the audience the newspaper had covered the “triumphs and the tears, hopes and fears” of the communities it serves during its history and would go on doing so.
Mike is believed to be planning a redesign and relaunch of the title after recently hiring a graphic designer on a short-term contract.
Speaking at the event last week, Mike, pictured above, also rejected the premise that traditional news was dead.
He said: “Here’s some breaking news for you. It’s not true. That need for a trusted source of news will survive.
“The Argus brand is not a chain around our necks but a launch pad to take us to the next stage.
“Make no mistake, we need a daily journalistic presence lifting the rocks to find out what’s underneath, flagging up the unsung heroes and the successes and standing up for the underdog.
“We live in a big important place and I pledge The Argus under my editorship will place itself at the centre of debate, campaigning for change where it’s needed and continuing to play its 135-year role in keeping our communities connected.”
The initial edition of The Argus, one of the country’s first evening papers, came off the presses at its former North Street office in March 1880 and was sold for a halfpenny.
Dawn Sweeney, managing director of parent company Newsquest Sussex, told the lunch: “Today The Argus celebrates 135 years of being the number one publisher of news and information across Brighton and Hove and the wider Sussex region, a tremendous achievement particularly in this rapidly changing media landscape.
“I’d like to thank you all for your continued support of The Argus, it is very much appreciated.”
“I am privileged and proud to be the managing director of The Argus which is one of the finest regional media brands in the UK. I have just loved working and living here in this great, crazy city.”
Last month it was revealed The Argus is set to cut four roles on its features and photographic desks.
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Once you lose readers, that’s it. You can’t bring something back from the dead – unless your Jesus
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Is it the paper, or Mick Gilson at the “centre of the debate” I wonder?
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This sounds exciting
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Why is 135 a significant anniversary number? Just marketing bulls**** I suspect.
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135 years matters because sadly the Argus will be a weekly by 140 years. Sales of 13,000 are shameful when you think it covers a lively seaside city and TWO counties. Mr Gilson deludes himself if he thinks the staff-starved Argus has any influence. For heavens sake most people in “Sussex” , maybe 3 million! don’t read it on paper or online. But good luck to him.
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Beach bum. If you are right, about one person in 200 buys the Argus across East and West Sussex every day on average. Mr G is obviously relying on word of mouth. As the sales boys and girls would say, poor market penetration!! And to be fair a lot of so called regionals have similar dismal sales.
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Comments so far have been of the snipe variety. No doubting that turning around the Argus is a big job. Perhaps Gilson is trying to re-focus and re-purpose a paper that lost its way long before he arrived. He will certainly be insisting on standards, whatever the staff levels. Someone, somewhere, in this bleak landscape has got to make a fist of turning failure into relative success and why shouldn’t it be him? Good, lively and eye-catching journalism will be the place to start, but Gilson will know that already. Good luck to him (and yes, Argus ink flows through my veins).
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Good luck Mike, try getting your team back into the basics, court, local governerment etc.
Also concentrate on Brighton, possibly Worthing, not Eastbourne, Crawley and Chichester, I did see a piece about Hampshire in there the other day!
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idle rich. Snide remarks? Just people adding some facts to balance the usual newspaper self-hype. As a BrightonandHoveian I have great affection for the Argus, so I hope the Messiah manages to halt its dreadful decline. I fear he might have to manage with what he has got, which in terms of numbers does not appear to be a lot!
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