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Second daily drops ‘evening’ from name as sister weekly closes

A regional daily has dropped the word ‘evening’ from its name while a free sister weekly has ceased publication.

The Wigan Post, formerly the Wigan Evening Post, has followed fellow Johnston Press-owned daily the Lancashire Post, in nearby Preston, in changing its name.

The changes see 10,000 copies of the Post’s Saturday edition, which now includes a 24-page lifestyle pullout, delivered free to homes across its patch.

As a result of the relaunch, its sister freesheet the Wigan Reporter has closed.

Editor Janet Wilson said: “Because the paper is available each morning we’ve taken the decision to drop ‘Evening’ from the masthead and have gone for a fresher, bolder look.

“We’ve introduced additional lifestyle and retro pages, together with more emphasis on news and sport.”

“The new-look has gone down well with both readers and advertisers.”

The new look Post came out for the first time on 11 February, while the Reporter ceased publication on 2 February.

Wigan wrap

The newspaper also celebrated a sporting triumph yesterday with a front page wraparound.

A special edition featuring a 12-page supplement was produced to mark rugby league side Wigan Warriors winning the World Club Challenge against Australia’s Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.

Sports editor Phil Wilkinson, reporter Tom McCooey and night editor Andy Williams worked late into Sunday night to produce the special edition while also providing online and social media coverage.

7 comments

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  • February 21, 2017 at 9:11 am
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    This is the first likely sign of a distancing of print towards digital and is what happened to the Norwich evening news once sales collapsed and before the city weekly free sheet closed to be replaced by a once a week free evening paper,
    Sales continued to decline but presumably costs have been saved
    Deckchairs on the titanic comes to mind

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  • February 21, 2017 at 10:04 am
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    Like the new look – but seriously did the editor just realise the paper came out in the morning? This is a necessary step to prepare for digital production with lower costs and less staff. Don’t try and kid the kidders,,,,

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  • February 21, 2017 at 2:16 pm
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    Liz is correct
    Editors such as this one would have a little more credibility if they laid their cards on the table and were honest as to the reasons for the changes they’re making,it’s their business so they can do what they want after all,but have the courage of your convictions and just be honest about it, then at least potential readers and advertisers could make their own minds up as to whether to support them or not.
    paper thin excuses fool no one and in fact puts people off.

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  • February 21, 2017 at 2:30 pm
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    True evening papers that hit the streets about 5pm and had several editions were the best fun to work on outside of the nationals. Morning regionals just don’t have vibrancy, especially with web news carrying immediate stories. So at least the paper has come clean about when it actually comes out.

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  • February 21, 2017 at 2:41 pm
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    I know some newspapers are struggling for readers, but… “has gone down well with both readers…”
    Just the two?
    Sheesh, things are worse than I thought….

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  • February 22, 2017 at 1:47 pm
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    But seriously though. What is the point of calling a paper an evening paper when it’s printed as early as 2100 the day before as was happening with a few I can name.
    Better to drop it from the name and get them hitting the streets in the morning while at least some of the news is still relevant and can be read before people have already read it on their phone.

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  • February 22, 2017 at 2:23 pm
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    Former loyal follower. I agree. The joy of evening papers was that they could scoop the nationals (morning papers after all) in the afternoon, and frequently did. Now the web has done them in. But it really was the best fun while it lasted.

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