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February 11, 2010

Cleethorpes Chronicle publishes 100th edition

By Press Gazette reporters

The Cleethorpes Chronicle is today celebrating the publication of its 100th edition.

The weekly was launched in March 2008, initially to serve the North East Lincolnshire seaside town.

It has since grown to circulate more than 11,000 copies each week with a part paid-for, part-free model – however, this figure is not accredited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations

The paper was launched by former Grimsby Telegraph deputy editor Nigel Lowther and former Grimsby and Scunthorpe Newspapers managing director Mark Webb.

The pair found independent local financing to fund the project, which created nine jobs, five of them in editorial.

The launch of the paper breathed new life into the previously defunct Cleethorpes Chronicle and Visitors’ List, which published briefly between 1892 and 1894.

Lowther said: “People doubted whether Cleethorpes could sustain a weekly paper editorially and we felt that, if nearby towns with smaller populations could justify a weekly, then Cleethorpes and its surrounding villages could.

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“We fill it with names and faces every week and we pride ourselves on going back to good, old-fashioned community journalism.

“It also helps our experienced team live in the area and the paper is written and edited in the heart of the community it serves.”

The arrival of the new version of the Chronicle ended a 30-year hiatus where the seaside resort had no paid-for weekly newspaper.

It has since extended its reach beyond the town into Lincolnshire.

Webb, who is now managing director of the Chronicle, said: “It’s been quite a journey over the last two years but we have more than survived, and are trading strongly.

“The key to our business has been accessible, value-for-money advertising rates and a real commitment to the community and businesses we serve.

“It really makes a difference when the owners of a newspaper actually live in the town it serves.”

The Chronicle now plans to extend its digital presence, become a member of the Newspaper Society and expanded its reach further into north-east Lincolnshire.

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