Regional ABCs: Circulation growth for Scotsman and Irish News but many record double-digit decline
South London Press editor Hannah Walker steps down after 17 years but says local news has a 'strong future'
The London Evening Standard has taken the top spot as the most-visited regional news website in the UK, new ABC figures show.
The Evening Standard overtook the Manchester Evening News to receive 994,292 daily unique browsers in June, up 37 per cent year-on-year.
The Manchester Evening News is up 32 per cent year-on-year to 984,217.
The last audit of regional newspaper websites, in December, put the MEN at 652,881 daily unique browsers to the Standard’s 544,339.
June figures show the Whitehaven News was the fastest-growing UK news website, climbing 163 per cent year-on-year to 3,864 daily unique browsers on average.
Also making large year-on-year gains were:
- Cambridge News, up 97 per cent year-on-year to 87,916
- Get Surrey, up 87.5 per cent to 81,962
- Birgminham Mail, up 71 per cent to 409,555
- Wales Daily Post, up 60 per cent to 130,604
- The East Anglian Daily Times, up 68.5 per cent to 39,205
Number of daily unique browsers to regional news websites in June 2017 (source: ABC):
| Website | Daily unique browsers
(June 2017) |
% period-on-period (Dec 2016) | % year-on-year |
| Trinity Mirror Regional Network | 4,915,591 | 41.5 | 98.9 |
| Newsquest Media Group | 1,660,947 | 12.5 | 5.4 |
| Johnston Network | 1,336,578 | 21.3 | 12.3 |
| Evening Standard | 994,292 | 82.7 | 37 |
| Manchester Evening News | 984,217 | 50.7 | 31.6 |
| Liverpool Echo | 712,426 | 56 | 35.8 |
| Wales Online | 429,656 | 46.7 | 9.5 |
| Birmingham Mail | 409,555 | 47.4 | 70.7 |
| Chronicle Live | 297,527 | 39.4 | 25.5 |
| Kent Online (KM Group) network | 163,974 | 17.1 | 23.5 |
| Bristol Post | 136,916 | 45.7 | 24 |
| Hull Daily Mail | 133,878 | 28.5 | 28.5 |
| Daily Post (Wales) | 130,604 | 61 | 60.4 |
| GazetteLive | 125,872 | 21.9 | 18.7 |
| Scotsman.com | 123,326 | 26.9 | 18.6 |
| Nottingham Post | 115,464 | 25.3 | 29.7 |
| Plymouth Herald | 115,366 | 43.7 | 42.8 |
| Thestar.co.uk | 108,274 | 37.8 | 47.8 |
| Yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk | 107,547 | 50 | 45 |
| Stoke Sentinel | 96,115 | 20.9 | 15.1 |
| Derby Telegraph | 92,858 | 30.6 | 29.7 |
| heraldscotland.com | 92,408 | 4.5 | -3.8 |
| eveningtimes.co.uk | 90,741 | 20.5 | 24 |
| Eastern Daily Press | 90,364 | 34.8 | 38 |
| Leicester Mercury | 88,681 | 46 | 7 |
| Cambridge News | 87,916 | 107.7 | 97.4 |
| edinburghnews.scotsman.com | 87,103 | 44.4 | 42.5 |
| Coventry Telegraph | 86,324 | 30.2 | 37.2 |
| Huddersfield Daily Examiner | 85,516 | 69.5 | 29 |
| bournemouthecho.co.uk | 83,930 | 2.9 | 3.4 |
| dailyecho.co.uk | 83,673 | 13.7 | -1.4 |
| Get Surrey | 81,962 | 56.4 | 87.5 |
| thetelegraphandargus.co.uk | 74,849 | 3.3 | -1.7 |
| CN Media Network | 66,151 | 13.9 | 42.4 |
| thenorthernecho.co.uk | 64,226 | 5.8 | -1.5 |
| Sunderlandecho.com | 58,946 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Portsmouth.co.uk | 58,728 | 23.8 | 17.3 |
| theboltonnews.co.uk | 58,617 | 1.9 | -5.8 |
| lancashiretelegraph.co.uk | 57,709 | 12.7 | -2.4 |
| theargus.co.uk | 56,508 | 11.8 | 3.9 |
| thepress.co.uk | 55,957 | 3.6 | 0.1 |
| Get Reading | 54,040 | 21.4 | 15.6 |
| Grimsby Telegraph | 47,576 | 23.9 | 16.5 |
| southwalesargus.co.uk | 47,119 | 15.9 | 2.2 |
| Oxfordmail.co.uk | 45,130 | 7.6 | 15.8 |
| Yorkshirepost.co.uk | 41,044 | 27.3 | 8.2 |
| LEP.co.uk | 40,055 | 21.6 | 17.7 |
| East Anglian Daily Times | 39,205 | 50.5 | 68.5 |
| Swindonadvertiser.co.uk | 38,093 | 9.5 | 10.5 |
| Peterboroughtoday.co.uk | 37,135 | 25.1 | 16.1 |
| Blackpoolgazette.co.uk | 36,959 | 11.8 | 11.7 |
| newsshopper.co.uk | 36,151 | 2.6 | -23.1 |
| www.newsandstar.co.uk | 34,090 | 13.5 | 42.7 |
| Ipswich Star | 33,975 | 42.7 | 52.2 |
| wigantoday.net | 32,242 | 30.5 | 20.9 |
| northamptonchronicle.co.uk | 32,136 | 13.1 | -11 |
| worcesternews.co.uk | 30,450 | 19.9 | 9.7 |
| newsletter.co.uk | 30,393 | 49.5 | 49.2 |
| shieldsgazette.com | 27,071 | 10.5 | 0 |
| dorsetecho.co.uk | 25,917 | 6.7 | 6.3 |
| www.nwemail.co.uk | 22,409 | 12.7 | 50.8 |
| hartlepoolmail.co.uk | 21,471 | 27 | 0.9 |
| Norwich Evening News | 19,235 | 29 | 17.7 |
| Visiter.co.uk | 17,040 | 32.2 | 18.6 |
| www.jobstoday.co.uk | 13,891 | -4.1 | -36.6 |
| www.timesandstar.co.uk | 5,127 | 73.6 | 143.1 |
| www.whitehavennews.co.uk | 3,864 | 50.6 | 162.7 |
| www.hexhamcourant.co.uk | 2,909 | 19.6 | 43.9 |
| www.cumberlandnews.co.uk | 1,379 | 57.8 | 43.9 |
| www.in-cumbria.com | 809 | -8.4 | 9 |
| www.cumbrialive.co.uk | 726 | 14.9 | 26.7 |
| www.inthebay.co.uk | 469 | -5.3 | 8.8 |
Senior Reporter, C21Media
Head of Partnerships and Projects, National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ)
Where are the Nationals figures?
archer / Archant Outsider:
They could do with a radical shake up of their entire print portfolio as the latest ABC figures for the daily papers in Norfolk and Suffolk alone see them becoming a non voice in their areas,shouting out to people who aren’t listening.
Just over 30,000 a day in Norfolk out of a population of over 800,000 is what? 3% of the potential?, to continue publishing in newspaper format can’t be cost effective so don’t be surprised to see the EDP go weekly, free or as an online edition in the near future, as for the embarrassing NEN they might as well close it now and save costs as with only a handful of copies sold it certainly won’t be missed.
My how the once mighty have fallen