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Community magazine goes online after 11 years

A former TV news chief who set up a free community magazine 11 years ago has launched an online version for the first time.

www.mendiptimes.co.uk, which went live last Thursday, will serve as a companion website to Somerset-based magazine Mendip Times.

The site will give users free access to digital versions of all editions of the magazine from the last seven years.

The magazine was set up in 2005 by Steve Egginton, a former head of ITV West News and director of the Society of Editors, along with colleague Mark Adler

Mendip

Said Steve:: “The website is there to enhance what the magazine itself offers. There won’t be any annoying pop-ups, just the opportunity for readers to find out more about stories or advertisers by clicking through to their websites.

“People in the trade said we were mad when we launched the magazine 12 years ago. But it’s so successful that we don’t need to look at making money from the website and can offer these services free of charge.

“Hopefully this will be a real benefit, in particular, to the many voluntary organisations and charities that we feature every month.”

Since its launch, the magazine’s print run has grown from 10,000 to 23,000 and is available from more than 900 outlets.