The full-colour weekday tabloid, called 24, will have an initial print run of 125,000 copies a week, which CN Group chief executive Miller Hogg said he expected to settle down to 13,000 - 14,000 per day. The 40-page title will cost 40p and will be printed on 52gsm high-grade paper.
“Print is still a massive part of our strategic future,” said Hogg, whose company prints 300,000 copies every week of titles including North West Evening Mail and Cumberland News.
“We control 10% of the newspaper market on our entire pitch and we looked at the other 90% who buy national newspapers, which are seeing declines similar or worse than ours.
“There are a lot of disenfranchised readers out there without a home who don't like the politics or opinions rammed down their throats by more expensive, London-centric national newspapers.
“24 will fill a large gap in the regional market by providing a northern take on the national headlines. We see our purpose as serving the communities in which we operate.”
Hogg said the company had a low-cost entry model: “We have most of the infrastructure on site, sales staff and an ongoing relationship with the Press Association, which will supply copy.”
The title will roll off Carlisle-based CN Group's in-house, 19-year old KBA Comet. It will be distributed through Menzies and sold in supermarkets and independent newsagents from Preston to Lockerbie, and Hexham to Workington.
There were no immediate plans for a dedicated website, but a 24 news section would be flagged up on CN Group’s regional news websites, with combined monthly page views of five million, Hogg said.
The publication aims to present a politically-neutral digest of national stories, alongside features and regionally-focussed columns with a regional slant on events such as the European referendum.
The launch of 24 marks the first time an independent, regional publisher has published a title which is national in its scope, according to the company.
News agency PA will provide around 95% of the newspaper’s content including news, lifestyle, features, celebrity gossip and puzzles. Sport will focus on northern teams. Mediaforce will manage advertising.
The title will be distributed across an area with a population of 1.15 million adults, and is designed to appeal to a wide-ranging demographic.
Hogg added: “We see our purpose as serving the communities in which we operate, so it follows that CN Group should produce a national newspaper tailored to our patch.”
CN Group’s editorial director David Helliwell said: “After so much doom and gloom for the industry this is an exciting new development.
“We believe we have the right package of content and design, spiced with a distinctly northern flavour, to provide a viable alternative in the national newspaper market.”
PA Managing director Tony Watson said: “We aim to provide a variety of content and services to sharpen the appeal of this vibrant new publication.”
Editor Mike Haworth has worked across regional and national publishing and held senior editorial positions at the Daily Express and Sunday Express and the Daily Star and Sunday Star.
