Local Paper Ends Daily Production
17 July 2011 by Paul Rhoades
"At the heart of all things local"
That is the strap line which has been carried by the Scunthorpe Telegraph over the years as it has served as the town's daily need for news.
Sadly now, due to the current economic climate, alternative media and the thirst of its owners for profit, the Evening Telegraph as a daily news paper is going to end production.
Starting out life as a broad sheet in 1937. Originally named the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph, the paper was very popular in Scunthorpe and the surrounding areas and enjoyed a faithful readership. Not only that, the paper provided the first job for hundreds of teenagers delivering the news after school, a much sought after job by any account. The paper really was a massive part of the community.
I'd be lying if I did not say that I felt that in recent years, with established reporters leaving, the quality of the paper has gone down. This has been echoed by the public at large in its falling sales, currently at just 16,000.
It's a real shame, and I believe that given time, opportunity and resource, the paper will one day be back to the standard which it was, as new reporters become more involved with the community and learn more about the town and the region.
There really does seem to be a very strong feeling among readers that the loss of the paper is a tragedy, and I agree with them wholeheartedly. In the past the paper has always been something to be proud of, and if you "got your name in the paper" for something it really was a high accolade (usually!!). The Business section has always been very supportive of local industry, both large and small and the court file has provided excellent coverage of the legal goings on in the town for a long time.
Another real asset to the paper was the former politics editor who always provided outstanding, balanced and unbiased reporting on the town's politics.
I really do hope the owner's think again about pulling the plug on the paper, and while a some people will by nature say that it was inevitable, I think many more are saddened, and indeed angered after years of faithful readership at this loss to the town.
According to an announcement made at a staff meeting on Thursday afternoon, the MD told staff at the paper that there would be job losses of up to 50%, and that details about redundancies would be given next week. It was also announced (as reported by the ET) that the last Daily edition will be on the 12th August, and the first weekly will be the following Thursday 18th. The new paper will consist of 140 pages and will cost 1 pound.
We have been given to understand that their website will continue to be updated on a daily basis by the staff at Darby, it is however unclear if the remaining staff at Scunthorpe will continue to man the news desk as they do currently.
While their new look web site is great news for people who can get on line to check the news, it is denying a large percentage of their older more traditional readership access. A key criticism which has been repeated to us by several people is what about obituaries? This is something which Northcliff will have to address and at very least build in to their existing web site.
Regulars to the Evening Telegraph's web site will have noticed several major changes recently, including a stronger reliance on social media interaction and also the ability for members of the public to submit their own features, articles and stories on line. does this mean that Northcliff are developing a strategy of cloud sourcing their news therefore keeping their site fresh, up to date and local but without the need for large numbers of professional journalists?
Interestingly, at the time that the Evening Telegraph web site was upgraded, several other Northcliff sites were also moved from the old model to this new design.
Don't get me wrong, I think "community journalism" is great, (after all its what Visit Scunthorpe is all about, though in the case of VisitScunthorpe.com calling it "journalism" in any shape or form would in my mind be classed as conceited). However, Northcliff seem to have picked up on the idea, and we have heard unconfirmed rumors that the Lincolnshire Echo will be following in the footsteps of the Evening Telegraph and will also be converting to a weekly.
Does this mean that all of the local and regional Northcliff publications which have been upgraded to this new "community" model will also be following the weekly publication model as well? It will be interesting to see,and very sad for a lot of communities if this does prove to be the case.
My final thoughts are naturally with those people whose livelihoods are affected by the paper's closure, not just the journalists and the staff running the office, but also the paper boys and girls who have for years, in all weathers proudly delivered the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph.
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Comments
If there isn't the advertising revenue, and the public are paying the maximum they are prepared to, then its pure economics to make the paper weekly. Free market at work providing services people want or in this case don't want.
Before this announcement I was about to cancel my delivery of the paper as there wasn't enought content to justify buying it daily. With a switch to a weekly publication I'll keep my order with the newsagent.
Many towns have weekly publications and get a decent local round-up of news, BD&M and a chance to advertise (pram for sale etc). This change may make the publication stronger.
Abiding memories? mmmmm - spending up to £30k a year in advertising and frequently have to ask if them NOT printing the company phone number was a fresh angle on Direct Impact Advertising - and wondering why the TOP 6 NIGHTCLUBS in TOWN feature included a working mens club in Louth, a hotel in Bridlington and Love to Love in Scunthorpe - when it had closed down 2 weeks before. Genius !!
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If the quality of reporting in the Telegraph was anywhere near to the quality of writing on this site then they wouldn't have had a problem with sales.
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