How many column inches have been written in print, and online, about the supposed terminal decline of printed newspapers? Too many.
In the face of so much negative comment (including this 'newspaper extinction timeline' produced by Australian futurologist Ross Dawson), I was heartened to read an interview with newspaper publishing legend Sir Ray Tindle in the Independent on Sunday.
What a breath of fresh air Sir Ray is, and what an inspirational example of someone who understands how to connect with a target audience. Reading the piece galvanised me into an action that's been on my 'to do' list for a while: a phone call to Bob Griffiths at Stone Leisure. Bob's company recently launched a new local newspaper, published monthly, covering the town of Long Eaton and its environs in Derbyshire. My mum and dad live a few miles away and sent me a copy. This 32pp full-colour tabloid fills a gap left by Trinity Mirror when it shut the Long Eaton Advertiser - a title that had been going for more than 125 years - two years ago.
"Ah," says Bob. "Ray Tindle is my hero". Stone Leisure's Long Eaton & District Chronicle sells at 40p, or is available via 'self-selection' distribution in major retail outlets - meaning that readers pick it up because they definitely want it, as opposed to the unreliable door-to-door delivery model. "Reaction has been really good, people are very community-minded in the area and they haven't had a local paper. It won't be long before we go fortnightly," Griffiths tells me.
Long Eaton seems to be some sort of hotbed of hyper-local publishing, because the parental postbag also contained a copy of the Long Eaton Website Extra - a rudimentary 8pp A5 black-and-white publication that appears to be produced on a photocopier. No matter. Published fortnightly and sold at 20p, it too is full of the sort of local information people love: 'Railings replaced at Cenotaph, 'Erewash indoor bowls club', along with hatchings, matchings and dispatchings, local football league results and upcoming fixtures. Oh, and even some classified advertising, would you believe it. Here's a pic of the two titles side-by-side.
Both publications are valuable reminders that one company's unviable product or business unit can be a perfectly good opportunity for somebody else with the right model and the right attitude. And there are still lots and lots of people who like their news in print.
