Thursday 24 November 2011

Liverpool Daily Post switches to weekly publication


The Liverpool Daily Post - the city's morning newspaper - is to end its daily publication after 156 years on the streets, Click Liverpool reports.

The decision to axe the title comes as its circulation dipped below 10,000 and advertising revenues were reduced.

Instead it will switch to the The Liverpool Post as a weekly, published on Thursdays from 18th January.

The title's website will also continue to be updated daily, but six journalists are being axed from the Old Hall Street newsroom.

Publishers Trinity Mirror say the new weekly will boast 100 pages with particular emphasis on its traditional core content of business, sports, the arts and politics.

Daily Post
editor Mark Thomas said: "It is always difficult when we lose people and I am hoping the redundancies can be voluntary.

"It is never easy to lose jobs but the changes to format and to staffing sets the Post up for an exciting new future.

"We are lucky to possess one of the great brands in journalism and we’ve been serving our city for 156 years.

"This change sets us up to serve it for the next 156 - in print and online and through whatever channels readers seek to receive it."

Journalists have begun work designs for the new weekly with the masthead The Liverpool Post.

Added Mark Thomas: "We've just completed research which proves yet again how much people like and want our current content mix. However, we appreciate that the world is changing and people's buying habits and news consumption requirements are very different.

"There is clear evidence that a bumper Post once a week, full of high-quality news, views and analysis, will be better for readers and a more appealing vehicle for advertisers.

"This move enables us to maximise brand potential and make a marked improvement to our profit performance in what are extraordinarily challenging times for the media industry and for business in general."

The Welsh Daily Post will continue unchanged on a six-day publication model. The Liverpool Echo is also unaffected.

But some Liverpool weekly titles The Bootle Times, Merseymart (South) and Star (Anfield & West Derby and Maghull), are to merge into two "community titles" which will be distributed with the Tuesday edition of the Echo.

Managing director of Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales, Warren Butcher, said: "We recognise that the proposed changes are fundamental and that they affect long-lived and much-loved brands.

"However, a change in approach is vital. Our business has been built on the ability to be proactive and to continually adapt our portfolio to reflect market conditions and changing consumer trends. We are convinced these changes will strengthen and add greater relevance to our portfolio in the long term and in turn improve the service we provide to both readers and advertisers."

Only months ago the Liverpool Daily Post, and its sister title the Liverpool Echo evening newspaper, were granted the Freedom of the City of Liverpool.

The NUJ has condemned the end of the Liverpool Daily Post, with general secretary Michelle Stanistreet calling it "a national tragedy".

She said: "This paper was a part of my daily life when I grew up in the city and the people of Liverpool will lose out enormously.

"The end of one of the country’s most famous morning papers is a national tragedy.

"The move from daily to weekly production is part of a very worrying trend – and here we have yet another iconic city title biting the dust. Trinity Mirror should be investing in quality journalism, not killing off our local press.”

Her worries were echoed by Chris Morley, NUJ Northern & Midlands Organiser, who said: "This is the latest in a string of grim redundancy announcements by Trinity Mirror.

"Turning the Liverpool Daily Post into a weekly is a real gamble by the company with a title that has a prestigious history of publishing.

"As a union, we remain to be convinced that this format is likely to be a successful way forward in Britain's big cities. Trinity Mirror has already carried out a similar operation with the Birmingham Post some two years ago but the jury is still out on the impact on circulation.

"We will be engaging with the company closely during the consultation now to take place, but our members are acutely conscious of the effect these cuts would have on already extremely stretched departments such as photographic."
  • Jon S: "I'm away until Saturday but was sent this copy by Click Liverpool, the city's independent website, about the important change in frequency of the Liverpool Daily Post."

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