A regional daily has pledged to give readers “better quality coverage” after relaunching.
The Citizen, Gloucester, has introduced the “fresh new look” after conducting a survey with readers, in which those who took part also asked for more local news in the paper’s pages.
The Citizen’s cover price remains at 75p following the relaunch, with the new look unveiled in last Monday’s edition, pictured below.
It comes as the newspaper prepares to mark its 140th anniversary later this year.
Editor Jenny Eastwood said: “The Gloucester Citizen newspaper celebrates its 140th birthday this year which is no mean feat in the ever-changing media world.
“We are rightly proud of all that has gone before but acutely aware of the need to constantly move with the times.
“As part of this, we conducted a survey with readers to determine what should feature in the Gloucester Citizen.
“They were not backward in coming forward to tell us they wanted more news about where they live and better quality coverage front to back in a newspaper which asks the right questions of the decision makers and demonstrates pride in the city.
“Well, we listened, and the new Gloucester Citizen for 2016 is packed full of more quality content and all wrapped up in a fresh new look, sitting proudly at the heart of Gloucester and surrounding areas.”
Earlier this month The Citizen shut its Gloucester office, with editorial staff now based 10 miles away at the headquarters of the Gloucestershire Echo, in Cheltenham.
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Did they really need to be told these things? Really?
If they’re felt to be lacking local coverage, quality content and to be told to ask relevant questions then I wonder how poor it must have been pre relaunch? If they couldn’t see the obvious areas they were lacking in or needed local people to point out these basics then i am amazed they’ve lasted this long.
Then to add insult to injury after being urged to provide more ‘local’news and to have ‘pride in the city’ the piece ends by saying “..editorial staff now based 10 miles away at the headquarters of the Gloucestershire Echo, in Cheltenham.”
Oh the irony
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Well I never . . . .
Readers of local newsaper want more local news, shock horror.
Cheeky monkeys also want their paper to take ‘decision makers’ to task.
But they needed to do a survey to find that out?
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So the readers weren’t backward in coming forward to ask for:quality content,local news, reporters asking questions and the paper taking pride in where they live?
If that’s ‘moving with the times’ then I wonder what this paper must have been like before such demanding issues were raised?
Maybe this whole ‘relaunch ‘ was an attempt to save face after the paper shut its local office and moved the reporters ten miles away, I’ll bet the readers didn’t ask for that!
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I can assure you readers weren’t asking for that.
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Oh the irony of readers asking for the paper to ” …. demonstrate pride in the city” whilst further on it points out that the local office has closed with the staff having been moved out of the city to Cheltenham!
a re launch? or a paper excercise to damage limitate maybe?
physician healthy self comes to mind
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Well the previous redesign, barely a year ago I think, made it look like a cross between The Beano and Take A Break, so it cannot be any worse.
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Usual newspaper bull. Pull out of the area then try to repair the damage.
Wish them luck though. we all need jobs.
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The readers weren’t backward in coming forward…no indeed. They howled with rage, in the survey, in the comments boxes and on Facebook. But I bet nothing will happen to the biggest bugbear: the website (which, sadly, in not under Gloucester’s control). Readers absolutely hate it for its intrusive pop-up ads, intrusive style and slow response in a circulation area of poor broadband speed. But it’s a Local World website (still) so nothing’s going to happen there. (I daresay the other thing that won’t happen will be an increase in the reporting staff, wherever based…)
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sounds like a newspaper in its death throes. Oh for the days when the local paper was the lifeblood of its city. Scrabbling after ever decreasing ad revenue and circulation has become the priority. The journalism comes a very poor second.
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I always feel a ‘ re launch’is PR speak for we’ve made a complete mess of what we had so let’s start again by trying to put a positive spin on it’
I also feel the embarrassment that ‘editor Jenny Eastwood’ must be going through having to be told by the locals what the papers content should be.
if she needs to be told this and sees this as ‘moving with the times’ then I can only assume the previous version must have been abysmal
If she’s serious and not just paying lip service maybe she should campaign to bring the staff back to Gloucester and thus demonstrate a real and genuine pride in the city.
Over to you Jenny Eastwood
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” …sitting proudly at the heart of Gloucester and surrounding areas.”
Which is more than the editorial team is having been shunted ten miles down the road!
What’s that about ‘demonstrating pride in the city’?
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Odd that in the survey no-one asked for more badly designed adverts and waste of space house ads.
Also great to see the paper taking pride in the city by running a big competition on its brand new front page with an offer to get out of Gloucester and go to the London Dungeon. Is there no attraction locally which would give up some prize tickets?
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The reader offer Pete is a classic case of ‘silo’ mentality within the regionals where each department has its own agenda, all usually serving a different master( ad revenues, sell more copies,cut costs,) and never the twain shall meet.
The promotions dept must have grabbed the London dungeon offer without considering the obvious bad impression this would give
It’s like the newspaper aimed at a young readership HTFP story last week which carried an advert for dentures on the cover!
Left hands and right hands
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