please empty your brain below

...unless I've got any of that wrong.

Harrow has two newspapers the Harrow Times published by the Newsquest Group and the Harrow Observer published by Trinity Mirror Southern. The former used to be delivered free but you could buy a copy if you wantedto; but no-one has delivered a copy to my door (I live in a cul de sac, up a hill) for over two years (I still see these being delivered by teenage kids in the rest of the borough but our road seems a step too far) The Harrow Observer used to be paid only but I believe it also now uses the part paid part free model. However I rarely see a paper copy of that either. I read both publications daily online so I have no need to buy a copy anymore. The main reason I stopped buying paper copies was for the same reason that prompted your post. Various micro-local papers were all combined into one mega publication. The Harrow Observer might still be called the Harrow Observer but in reality over 50% of the stories are about Wembley and the Borough of Brent in which I have little interest (relatively speaking)

The changes reflect the harsh financial facts of local newspaper publishing. Archant also merged the Gravesend Reporter, established around 1856, with its neighbouring Dartford Times title in Kent. The fact these newspapers still exist at all as hard ink-on-newsprint is a credit to the hard work and financial balancing act the publishing companies have to accomplish.

It's good informative blogs that are killing off the local newspapers.

All print newspapers used to be a source of real and useful information. I'd say very few fulfil that function these days.

I have been reading the East London Advertiser online for quite a while now and find that it keeps me up to date with local news that I would not have known about apart that is from Public Notices, as far as the council freebie (that costs Tower hamlets residents a fortune) is concerned it used to be delivered every week to my house and then at the begining of this year it suddenly stopped, I have been complaining ever since and have received only three copies out of a possible 40 that have been published, it all came to a head this week when I threatened to take out a corporate complaint and to inform the Mayor ( who loves his little baby called East End Life) about my non delivery, lo and behold I have received two copies so far this week and an apology from the distribution manager who tells me that it will be delivered every week from now on, my lack of receipt of East End Life meant that earlier this summer I did not know that there was a full blown consultation about how the public feel about the Parking Service in Tower Hamlets and I therefore missed my oportunity to comment ( and my comments would have been many) but now it seems that East End Life is available online via the Council Website all be it about a week after it is published.

I get the Lambeth Council freesheet, which is OK, but I've always avoided the South London Press. It's a weird mix of ultraviolence and bonny baby competitions, and I think that if I read it every week, I'd probably get the urge to move to Stornoway. I prefer to live in blissful ignorance of what they're up to in Peckham.

To be honest, I think it's probably a sensible step. It's hard times in paper printing, and the majority of people just aren't that locally-minded any more. Opening up the paper's reach a bit by combining it with another will hopefully keep it afloat and might even bring in some new readers, who feel they'll be getting more news.

I happened to be in the Greedy Cow in Mile End last night, and picked up a copy of The Wharf (is this the same as the one you call The Docklands?)

It had performed the remarkable feat of printing identical puzzles as the easy and hard Sudoku.

Although the Ham and High (Hampstead and Highgate Express) is paid for, it is available free on line. I get a weekly email from them when the new online edition is out and read that.

I started out as a reporter on a local newspaper in Kent in the days of hot metal printing. I always buy the local weekly wherever I am: love them dearly and hate to see one go. In contrast,
I have family in a Swedish town with a population of less than 14,000 which has a daily broadsheet newspaper. A good, well-written, interesting paper which has high readership. I'd be amazed if there was an equivalent here.

I used to deal with Joyce on the ELA. I hope if she's there her job is safe. Hullo Joyce!

Local press is basically being caned by the death of classified advertising. I'm pessimistic for it.

I used to live in Exeter which I thought was very unusual in having a *daily* paid for local newspaper (The Express & Echo). I thought I'd check if it's still daily but I found this article that says it has gone to a weekly edition from September this year : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-14415527

The (free) Camden New Journal is a local paper like no other. OK, it has a non-typical clientele given the borough it covers - but it puts almost every other local paper I've seen to shame. (Oxford has a decent local paper, for similar reasons, but you have to pay for that). I really am mystified how the CNJ does it.

Depressing, though, this downfall of local papers - my immediately post-GCSE work experiecne placement was with one of the papers on your list, which has certainly declined since Archant took it over, quite markedly - even if those economies are probably unavoidable and necessary

Baldassaro, I've been a South London Press addict ever since the "Squirrels on Crack" headline. Heading out of town, a mate of mine who lives near Folkestone buys his local paper simply for the "Cat of the week" segment. You can't knock local papers!

There is a website/blog I read called Angry People In Local Newspapers. The guy who writes it publishes pictures taken from local newspaper websites of people who are in angry poses usally over the most trivial things.

Whatever happenned to the Yellow Advertiser. I remember their Stratford and Newham freesheet very well. It was always much thinner than the Express.

There is a Cat of the Week segment???

I could never figure out how there was enough news to make it worth publishing both "The Muswell Hill Journal" _and_ "The Crouch End Journal".











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