Scunthorpe Telegraph staff 'devastated' by weekly move

Staff at the Scunthorpe Telegraph are "devastated" by news that the title is to be switched from a daily to a weekly edition, father of the NUJ chapel Nick Cole said today.

Publisher Northcliffe media has confirmed that the final daily edition of the 64-year-old title would be published on the 12 August, with the first edition of a new 140-page weekly to be published every Thursday from the following week.

The Telegraph is be the second Northcliffe title within a month to be switched from a daily to a weekly edition. Last month it was announced that the Herald Express in Torquay would go weekly with the loss of 16 editorial jobs.

The remaining 16 staff at the Express produced the final daily edition yesterday.

Staff at the Telegraph have not been told what effect the move will have on their jobs but they are due to meet with management next week to discuss possible redundancies.

Cole said today: "We are all devastated by the news and collectively we are doing out utmost to protect the jobs at stake."

Mel Cook, editor of the Telegraph, said: "For many years the Scunthorpe Telegraph has been at the heart of the community in North Lincolnshire. This will remain so.

"The move to a weekly publication is a reflection of the changes in our readers' lives. People do not have time to read the newspaper every day. However, they still want to know what's happening in their area. They still want to know about the issues that affect their lives. And they still want the Telegraph to campaign on their behalf."

Managing director for the Grimsby Scunthorpe Media Group, Mark Price, said the move was a "major step forward for advertisers in North Lincolnshire".

"Our advertisers will experience an immediate benefit as we anticipate a single issue of the weekly to reach a much wider market than any single edition of the current daily publication".

The final edition of the Herald Express in Torquay led with a front page story on the change.

Herald Express editor Andy Phelan said: "In many ways, today is a very sad day. We have had to say goodbye and good luck to some of our friends and colleagues, the people who have made the Herald Express so special to so many people over such a long time.

"But we still have a fantastic team of people who are ready to go forward with the new weekly newspaper."

 

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