Hot Off The Press

[brassed off monkey]

I heard from a little dicky bird that the Mail will be going up to 55p from Monday..... & that it will be printed in Sheffield, then to Hartlepool via Sunderland.

I could end up with egg on my face with this one, but if it turns out to be correct ? will the Editorial Stance alter in any way ?

[bill]

It's true (well the printing in Sheffield bit is) Editorial staff have been told to bring forward their deadlines

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2012/sep/21/johnston-press-downturn

[brassed off monkey]

I can see a "Weekly" Mail on the Horizon....... we have to ask the question, would the mail be missed ?

It certainly would be by the the Mayor, our MP & Labour Councillors, but i don`t honestly think it would be by the majority of people in Hartlepool, the 55p price tag will be a bit steep for a lot of people.

[mk1]

So a  paper that is already printed very early in the morning  is going to be printed even earlier?
The Mail  really is  yesterday's news
Realisticaly a Sheffield printing means at least 3 hour delay to get to Hartlepool.
What is the deadline time, 03:00 am?

[steveL]

I'd say the switch to a weekly paper is itself just weeks away.

"Hardly a day passes without some kind of dramatic development at Johnston Press. The latest example is typical. Rob Lawson, editor of the Sunderland Echo for 10 years and widely respected, is to leave the company.

He goes after the announcement that Johnston's Sunderland print plant is to close, with the loss of 81 jobs. Printing will move to Dinnington, near Sheffield (that's 125 miles by road, a driving time of 2 hours 16 minutes according to AA route finder)

Needless to say, it means that the Echo's editorial staff, along with the editors at Johnston titles in the north east region (such as the Hartlepool Mail), have been told deadlines must be brought forward.

Sunderland becomes the third Johnston print plant to be closed this year following the closures at Leeds and and Peterborough.

It means the company will have just two remaining print plants in England – the one at Sheffield and one in Portsmouth. Those presses are certainly going to be worked hard, given that Johnston Press publishes a total of 227 titles, including 14 dailies (though not all are in England, of course)."

[testing times]

Trying to print so many newspapers on one printing press rather gives the game away, doesn't it? It's only practical if those newspapers all become weekly newspapers which suggests the announcement that The Mail will go weekly can't be more than a few weeks away given that the move to Sheffield is set to take place by the end of October.