Wilmington: 'Press Gazette magazine to close'

Press Gazette publisher Wilmington announced today that the magazine is to close and it is understood its online service will not be running news after Easter, leaving a question mark over the future of the title's current editorial staff of three full-time journalists.
Wilmington will hope to hang onto the lucrative British Press Awards but it is not clear how the industry will react if there is no Press Gazette magazine or online news service. The May issue of the magazine, published later this month, will be the last.
Wilmington said in a statement: "We are sorry to announce the closure of Press Gazette magazine.
"For 43 years Press Gazette has been the leading magazine for the UK journalism profession. Wilmington Group plc bought Press Gazette out of administration in 2006, since when we have invested significant sums each year to try to develop the magazine and to bring it to profitability. "Unfortunately Press Gazette, along with much of the profession, has suffered from a declining market during these years and its losses have increased. We have therefore been forced to conclude that the market required to sustain a commercially viable Press Gazette magazine no longer exists. The last hard copy edition of Press Gazette will therefore be the May edition which will be published in April.
"During Wilmington’s stewardship there have been several positive developments. One has been the rapidly increasing traffic to the online edition of Press Gazette. Whilst we will no longer be able to offer the magazine’s content online, we aim to develop this site as a resource for the UK journalism community, and we plan to roll out additional functionality in the coming months.
"Another success has been the British Press Awards which have gone from strength to strength over the last three years. We remain fully committed to running the British Press Awards and similar events, through which the whole industry can continue to celebrate the quality of UK journalism. "
Press Gazette's deputy editor Julie Tomlin has just left to run events for the Frontline club.