1. The Local and Regional Newspaper industry
Q Why should we study
something as small and
insignificant as local and
regional papers?
A They are read by nearly
everyone, are highly
influential and make
millions of pounds a
year!

2. The Local and Regional
Newspaper industry
The regional press
is the backbone of
Britain's media, read
by the vast
majority of adults
every week and
considered to be the
most trusted
responsible medium
of all.

3. There are 1,300 regional and local
newspapers in the UK
• 27 mornings (19 paid-for and 8 free)
• 75 evenings (like the Shropshire Star)
• 21 Sundays
• 531 paid-for weeklies (like the
Whitchurch Herald and the North
Shropshire Chronicle)
• 645 free weekly newspapers

4. Not just papers…
The regional press has diversified
and owns:
• over 600 stand-alone magazines
and niche publications
• over 800 websites
• 28 radio stations
• two television stations

5. The magic figure
84%

6. Readership
(figures 2005-March 2006)
• 83.7% of all adults read a regional
newspaper
• 83.7% of men read a regional
newspaper
• 83.7% of all women read a regional
newspaper

7. Coverage of all age groups is very high
with a slight bias towards the older, more
affluent (wealthier) age groups
(figures 2005-March 2006)
• 77.4% 15 – 24
• 82.5% 25 – 34
• 83.3% 35 - 44
• 85.5% 45 - 54
• 86.5% 55 - 64

8. Coverage of all social class groups is
also very high
mainly because the profiles of regional and local
newspapers readers tend to reflect the profiles of the areas
they cover
(figures 2005-March 2006)
• 83.4% AB (Professional, business and white collar)
• 84.7% C1 (Skilled non-manual workers)
• 84.4% C2 (Skilled manual workers)
• 82.3% DE (‘Semi-skilled’ and ‘Un–skilled’ manual workers)

9. The overall regional coverage also
remains very high
(figures 2005-March 2006)
• 78.8% London
• 85.1% South
• 86.7% East
• 88.2% South West
• 75.4% Wales & the West
• 84.1% Midlands
• 88.6% North West
• 84.5% Yorkshire
• 80.6% North East
• 90.2% Central Scotland
• 90.8% Northeast Scotland
• 87.2% Border

10. The magic figure
84%

11. A nation of newspaper readers
• British people are among the
most avid newspaper
readers in the world.
• 83.7% of all British adults
(40 million people) read a
regional newspaper,
• only 66% read a national
newspaper.

12. A growth industry?
• Since 2000, regional press coverage
grown by 1,087,000 readers
• Readership of weekly paid-for titles
alone grew by 17% since 1994

13. On the other hand…
are National papers
a shrinking market?
• national press coverage fell by 4.3%
(that’s a loss of nearly 1½ million readers)

14. Only a local?
• The Regional press has a high solus
readership
• 26.7% of those who read a regional
newspaper do not read a national daily

15. Advertising
• With this level of readership it
is easy to see why the
demand for advertising space
on regional press/websites is
growing
• The Regional press was the
second-largest medium in
2005, accounting for 18.6%
of all advertising revenue.

16. Advertising goldmine?
• Although regional newspaper had
increased for the 13 years leading
to 2004. Last year saw the first
decline in 14 years – but regional
press online jobs advertising has
grown 26.9% in the last year!
• TV accounts for only 7% more
revenue than regional press, with
national press’ share another seven
percentage points lower.

17. Loadsa money?
National Internet, 8.5%
Press, 11.9%
Magazines,
Regional
11.7%
Press, 18.6%
Cinema, 1.2%
Radio, 3.2% Directories,
7.0%
Outdoor, 6.5%
TV, 25.4%
Direct Mail,
6.0%

18. Loadsa money?
Note there’s been a dip over the last 2 years – why?
3,500
2,986 3,027
2,834
3,000 3,165
2,483 2,894
2,762
2,500 2,238
£m
1,963 2,390
2,000
2,061
1,500
1,000
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

19. Still going strong?
• In 2004 the regional press
showed a growth of 5.8% over
the previous year
• Revenue exceeded £3 billion
for the first time (£3,132m).
• Regional press readership is
growing as new audiences are
being reached through
expanding portfolios of print
and online platforms.

20. Beating the competition…
• In 2004 the total spend in the regional press
was nearly six times the total spend on radio,
and just a little less than the combined
total for direct mail, outdoor (posters etc),
radio, internet and cinema.
• At that time the Regional press was the only
medium to have increased ad spend every
year for the last twelve years

21. The Shift to Local
• Life is local: three-quarters of the UK
workforce work within 10 miles of home, 40%
within two miles.
• Media can be said to be moving from global
to local, mass marketing to one-to-one
marketing. This trend favours regional
newspapers which can deliver target
audiences cost-effectively. Regional
newspapers are still the most important
source of local news
• Local newspaper journalists tend to live close
to the areas they write about

22. Ownership
But how local are these papers?
• The top 20 publishers now own 89% of all
regional and local newspaper titles in the UK,
and 95% of the total weekly circulation.
• There are 86 regional newspaper publishers,
but only 40 own just one title.
• Over £6.8 billion has been spent on regional
press acquisitions and mergers since October
1995 (creating large ownership groups) WHY?

24. Locals fight back
• Local newspapers have to fight hard for their market share
against the nationals.
• Many are now weekly and belong to one of the big
newspaper groups (eg the Whitchurch Herald which is
owned by the biggest group, Trinity Mirror). This means
you often see a house style across many different
newspapers and journalists/photographers contribute stories
across several regions.
• Lots of material may be syndicated, eg car supplements.
• However, most local newspapers try to keep a local identity
because they know that’s what the audience wants. Some
mimic the layout of national tabloids to attract audiences if
that’s appropriate for their target audience (others look more
like broadsheets and which have similar content, albeit with
a local slant– eg the Oxford Times - which appeals to an
A/B/C1 audience).

26. New ways of attracting audiences
New platforms are proving increasingly popular with
regional press consumers:
• Websites, podcasts, mobile phones and e-
editions allow people to access news and
entertainment on the move - over 90% of the
industry now has an online presence
• Blogging enables readers to get directly involved
with their newspaper.
• Video streaming is used by an increasing number
of publishers, to provide news, sport and local
information.

27. Case Study – Shropshire Star

47. The Shropshire Star
• Owned by the Midland News Association - 8th in the
league – they own a portfolio of newspapers which are
concentrated in the Midlands area
• Express & Star Ltd
Express & Star
Cannock Chase Chronicle
Dudley Chronicle
Great Barr & Erdington Chronicle
Halesowen Chronicle
Kidderminster Chronicle
Sandwell Chronicle
Stafford Chronicle
Stourbridge Chronicle
Walsall Chronicle
Wolverhampton Chronicle
• Shropshire Newspapers Ltd
Shropshire Star
Bridgnorth Journal
Hereford & Leominster Journal
Ludlow Journal
Newport & Market Drayton Advertiser
Shrewsbury Chronicle
Telford Journal

48. First new post war evening newspaper
• The first edition of
the Shropshire Star
was published on
October 5 1964 and
was at the forefront
of new technology
from the beginning.

49. • It was the first new evening newspaper
launched in the post-war years and led the
way in using cutting-edge printing technology
which gave better picture and print quality
than before. It was years before Fleet Street,
caught up – it was like a virtual museum of
hot metal printing (individual pieces of type
placed into presses then printed straight onto
the paper so was very slow and expensive)
and restrictive practices.

50. Rapid circulation growth
• The company published the first edition as an
offshoot of the West Midlands Express and
Star but the SS quickly established itself as a
separate newspaper with its own Shropshire
identity.
• It had inherited a nightly circulation of around
19,000 from the old Shropshire edition of the
Express & Star, but the new SS saw an huge
sales growth.
• By the mid-1980s sales were pushing the
100,000 mark, and the paper had expanded
from an initial two editions, to eight

51. New printing technology
• From its earliest days, the Shropshire Star
has been a testbed of groundbreaking new
technology.
• They started to use photocomposition and
the new web offset printing method, in which
the image is not printed directly onto the roll
of paper (the web), but is transferred first onto
a rubber roller (i.e. it is offset) and then on to
the paper. Fleet Street looked on with
interest. It was thought web offset was not
suitable for the huge printing runs of national
newspapers. Now they all do it!

52. Colour
• Shropshire Star was also a
pioneer of colour, and front page
colour was an early selling point.
• The first time it was used was on
January 30, 1965, with a photo of
Sir Winston Churchill on the day
of his funeral.
• In March 1967, the paper was the
first in Britain to publish a colour
photograph on the day it was
actually taken – when the Queen
made a visit to Shropshire.

53. Computer revolution – production
methods
• In the 1980s, the Shropshire Star and its
Wolverhampton sister paper were at the front
of another newspaper revolution - the
computer revolution.
• Together they moved from old-fashioned
‘double keying’ (which involved the use of one
set of staff to set type which had already been
typed once by journalists), to single keying,
which cut out an entire production process
and effectively turned journalists into printers.
This advance heralded the age of hi-tech
computerised newspapers

54. Online
• The Shropshire Star was also at the front of the
Internet revolution, launching its first site, shropshire-
online.com in 1998.
• In 1999 the newspaper appointed its first Internet
Editor, who was given the task of developing the site,
to be renamed ShropshireStar.com and soon turned it
into an integral part of the Shropshire Star's publishing
strategy.
• In 2003 another version of Shropshirestar.com was
launched and it changed again in 2006
http://www.shropshirestar.co.uk/

55. More papers get into the homes of the
potential readership than for any other
regional paper
• Nearly 250,000 adult readers read the SS
each night, and it enjoys the highest
penetration rate in the British regional press,
with over 82 per cent of all Shropshire Stars
published being home delivered.
• The website pulls in an impressive one million
page views a month.

56. Sponsors local events
• It doesn’t just report the goings on in
the local community - it gets involved
too, through sponsorship, support for
various charity appeals (most recently
the Rainbow Appeal which seeks to
build a cancer treatment unit for
children in Shrewsbury), and work with
schools through education initiatives.
WHY?

57. Employers
• The SS employs around 400 people
• It has offices in Telford, Shrewsbury,
Newtown, Whitchurch, Market Drayton,
Ludlow, Oswestry and Bridgnorth.
• Most people live in the area they write
about
• The Shropshire Star was recently edited
by the first woman to edit the paper.

58. Radio Stations
• Shropshire Star (part of Midland News
Association) owns and operates three
commercial radio stations

60. Who reads the Shropshire Star?

61. Total readerships by geographical area
This comes from http://jiab.jicreg.co.uk/StandardReports/ where
you can click on the links down the left hand column to find out what
local newspaper competition there is in each town

63. Shropshire Star’s Success – based on its
relationship with the community/audience?
Regional Edition: North Edition dated: 20th February 2007
1. High proportion of local news - therefore a high level of
‘meaningfulness’ - but with enough national/international news
to keep a high ‘solus’ readership (people who ONLY buy the
Shropshire Star)

64. 2. Editionising to keep even more
local focus (Editions for North
Shropshire; South Shropshire; Oswestry;
Shrewsbury; Welsh border and
Bridgnorth)

65. 3. Feeling of independence is
promoted – it’s pro-community rather
than pro-any particular political party (eg
Wem Town Hall and swimming baths
stories in the past)

66. • Good value :
• 56-72 pages - often 9 stories on the front
page;17 stories per page; avg. 34 minutes
spent reading it
• variety of content
• delivery mechanism – £2.10 ?? a week for
6 editions inc delivery anywhere – even in
outlying rural areas - with network of own
vans and delivery boys/girls)

67. 5. Mode of address is friendly and direct,
eg ‘Your Star’; ‘call us’; ‘Try your luck…’;
‘we’re here to help’; ‘All your weekly viewing
listings’; ‘Our Pete…’.

68. • Fairly simple syntax and vocabulary,
written in short sentences, yet quite
copy heavy and detailed at times
• some use of puns and alliteration in
headlines eg ‘ Weight for it’, ‘Fun with
Flies’, ‘Corking Price for Vintage
Opener’; ‘Deer oh deer’; ‘Villagers kick
up a stink over vile smell’.

69. 6. Supplements
for different sections of
audience – eg women,
cars, home, jobs,
business, weekend,
weddings, schools,
special events

70. 7. Voice of the reader - Local
letters; classifieds and announcements;
a high proportion of the stories come
from the readership unlike other news
providers – eg coffee morning; ‘Flower
group hold meeting’; ‘Hall in appeal for
Volunteers’; ‘Indie band in bassist
appeal’;

71. • The community is represented
positively (whether rural village life or
the bigger towns like Shrewsbury or
Telford. The good self image
encourages sales. Positive values
represented include:
• being caring (of people and
environment) and charitable- eg ‘kind-
hearted village’; ‘Tree planting idea to
remember Bryan’; ‘get involved in
community’; ‘range to help with walking
difficulties’

72. • promoting pleasant
environment eg ‘clean
up plea’; ‘bin to help in
litter battle’ ‘Villages
urged to join battle for top
prize’; ‘Councillor
highlights loss of trees’;
‘Town anger as thief digs
up Queen’s shrub’
• pro animal – ‘Two
rutting stags spark rescue
bid’; ‘Log on to look at
pet-cam’ ; ‘Fresh appeal
over dead pet’

73. • child-centred – child’s play
supplement; fire safety in
schools; school fundraising
events; ‘invite to join
children’s club’; ‘boarding
school pupils to get classes in
happiness’; ‘Royal honour for
children’

74. • harking to the past – nostalgia photo
every day; ‘vintage Morris back on road’;
’40 years since film won Oscars’

75. •lively social life – eg
‘band at community
centre’; ‘Concert to rock
against racism’;
‘Rockers joining festival
line-up’; cult show for
summer; youngsters in
park fun; coffee
mornings; ‘choir in
concert for appeal fund’

76. 9. Service to the
Community eg ads; listings;
public service details (council
tips; chemists, planning
applications etc). In the past
they have helped fund
community services eg the
school mini bus competition

77. 10. Competitions and offers (eg Win a Dream Wedding)

78. 11. Range of methods
to get the
Shropshire Star:
• print;
• online - as
website; emailed
or as e-edition
(£1.50 a copy);
• mobile?