TheWestern Morning Newsis a dailyregional newspaperfounded in 1860, and covering theWest CountryincludingDevon,Cornwall,theIsles of Scillyand parts ofSomersetandDorsetin the South West of England.
 Western Morning News front page, February 18 2023 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Reach Plc |
| Editor | Charlie Elder |
| Founded | 3 January 1860 |
| Political alignment | Independent;[citation needed]historicallyLiberal |
| Headquarters | Millbay Road,Plymouth |
| Circulation | 7,326 (as of 2022)[1] |
| Sister newspapers | The Herald |
Organisation
editTheWestern Morning Newsis published byReach Plc.Its main office is based inPlymouth.Charlie Elderis Editor.
History
editTheWestern Morning Newswas founded on 3 January 1860, byWilliam Saundersand Edward Spender, father of SirWilfrid Spender.It has been published continuously since the first edition, including throughout the1926 General Strikeand thePlymouth Blitz.[2]By 1920, the Devon newspaper market was getting cramped, with all papers running into financial difficulties. In the same year, SirLeicester Harmsworthacquired theWestern Morning News;from 1 February 1921, theWestern Daily MercuryandWestern Evening Heraldwere also taken over, with the papers continuing to be published from the oldMercuryoffices in Frankfort Street, Plymouth. Shortly beforeWorld War II,new offices were constructed on the same site after the demolition of the previous premises; the modern construction allowed the offices to survive the Blitz and publishing continued there until a move in 1993 to a purpose-built building in Derriford, Plymouth, designed by architectNicholas Grimshaw.In 2013, the Western Morning News and sister titleThe Herald(Plymouth) moved into offices in Millbay Road in the centre of the city.
On 8 February 1997, theWestern Morning Newsfollowed most local newspapers in the UK and changed format frombroadsheettotabloid.In 2012,Local Worldacquired the ownership of Northcliffe Media fromDaily Mail and General Trust,[3] The paper had a Sunday edition from June 2014 until January 2016.[4]In November 2015, Trinity Mirror purchased Local World. In 2018 Trinity Mirror rebranded as Reach Plc.Reach Plcis one of Britain's biggest newspaper groups. Previous editors of the Western Morning News include Colin Davidson, Barrie Williams, Alan Qualtrough, Bill Martin and Philip Bowern.
Readership and website
editTheWestern Morning Newsis published six days a week and provides readers with regional, national and international news. Supplements cover a range of topics, including Farming on Wednesday and Property in the Saturday edition, which also includes Antiques, Puzzles and lifestyle magazine West. The newspaper's Reach Plc sister websites in the Westcountry are devonlive, cornwalllive and plymouthlive.co.uk.
In literature
editSherlock Holmes:"The detection of [printing] types is one of the most elementary branches of knowledge to the special expert in crime, though I confess that once when I was very young I confused theLeeds Mercurywith the Western Morning News. "(The Hound of the Baskervilles,Ch. 5).
See also
edit- Eastern Morning News,founded by William Saunders, 1864, published in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire
- List of newspapers in the United Kingdom
References
edit- ^"Plymouth - Western Morning News".Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK).30 January 2023.Retrieved10 May2023.
- ^Moseley, Brian (23 May 2011)."Western Morning News".The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History.Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2013.Retrieved12 February2015.
- ^"Daily Mail sells regional newspapers to Local World".BBC News.21 November 2012.
- ^"Western Morning News on Sunday scrapped and 'handful' of jobs to go".BBC News. 6 January 2016.