Five jobs have been created after a publisher launched three new dedicated local websites, including one in an area where a rival title is set to launch.
Reach plc has announced the launch of Torbay Live and Exeter Live, which will form dedicated sections of its Devon Live website, as well as Truro Live, which will form part of its Cornwall Live site.
Two reporters and one content editor will be taken on in Devon, with two community reporter roles created in Cornwall.
The launches come after Archant revealed it was set to launch The Torbay Weekly this spring, with Jim Parker, who edited the Reach plc-owned Torquay Herald Express until 2018, serving as its editor.
Content produced by the new journalists will also be used in its print titles including the Herald Express, West Briton, Cornish Guardian, The Cornishman, Exeter Express & Echo and Western Morning News.
Bill Martin, pictured, editor-in-chief for the South West at Reach, said of the new launches: “Our journalists are committed to telling the important stories which matter to readers in a way in which resonates across our region.
“Our approach of being first with the news, campaigning for the region and not being afraid to have a smile with our readers is why we now welcome so many people to our sites every month.
“This growth has given us the confidence to invest in new roles, which will mean we can serve readers better than ever before.”
According to Reach, Devon Live and Cornwall Live have posted year-on-year growth of 35pc and 70pc respectively, with readers to both sites viewing a combined 25m pages a month.
The sites both boast more than 100,000 readers a month, while Devon Live’s app has 14,000 monthly users and Cornwall Live’s 10,000.
The company says Devon is also one of the busiest counties for usage of In Your Area, Reach’s hyperlocal information website.
David Higgerson, chief audience officer at Reach, said: “Our talented team in the South West is reaching more people than ever before because they are prepared to do things differently, and build news around readers, rather than expecting readers and advertisers to fit around the way we’ve always done things in the past.
“The growth has been spectacular, and underpinned by a commitment to quality, local journalism which has meant both sites have demonstrated you can have both scale and quality engagement at the same time.
“The launch of the three new brands is an exciting innovation for us, which we hope we will be able to repeat across the country as ever more local people turn to us everyday.”
Sign up for our free daily email bulletin
Follow HTFP on Twitter
Got a story? Email the Editor at
A quick response to Archant’s Torbay Weekly announcement, I’m guessing.
Report this comment
Hmmmmmm the jungle drums down here are beating that Reach don’t give a hoot about the print but it’s all click, click and more clicks.
Furthermore, two of their Devon print weekly titles may well be electronic only by the end of the year. And don’t get me started on advertisers who have already jumped ship from Reach to Archant. How majestic!
Report this comment
It’s the perfectly natural response to a raid onto their territory by Archant who rather confusingly declared their focus is entirely on digital news not newspapers then they announce the launch of a new weekly newspaper in Torbay!
This was apparently prompted by the ‘countless’ number of people who told two ex Reach veterans they’d welcome a ‘quality’ weekly into the area .
My only word of caution here being the Archant portfolio of existing weekly print titles can hardly be termed ‘quality’ filled as they are with old news and with a heavy reliance on UGC, and with their plans to become a digital only news operation and having sold off their print centre and outsourced their printing it may well be a foot in the door to converting this new newspaper into a digital online version a little way down the line.
Competition is good for the people of the area, both readers and advertisers alike, and the one providing the most engaging truly local content and the most comprehensive coverage of the patch should take the market, so may the best group win, let battle commence!
Report this comment