  | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner | Local World |
| Editor | Gavin Thompson |
| Staff writers | 6-8 approx |
| Founded | 1858 |
| Political alignment | not stated |
| Headquarters | Temple Way, Bristol |
| Circulation | 6,095 (as of 2022)[1] |
| ISSN | 0307-2738 |
| Website | somersetlive.co.uk |
TheWestern Daily Press is a regional newspaper covering parts ofSouth West England, mainlyGloucestershire,Wiltshire andSomerset as well as themetropolitan areas ofBath and North East Somerset and the Bristol area. It is published Monday to Saturday inBristol,UK. The majority of its readers are inrural areas, small towns and villages throughout the region and the paper's coverage of rural,agricultural andcountryside issues is particularly strong. It also has a good record in picking up quirky and bizarre stories which would otherwise not be publicized. Politically it tends to beconservative although its coverage of the UK ban onfox hunting was neutral, recognizing that even in rural areas people are very divided on the issue.
It was founded by Scottish businessmanPeter Stewart Macliver andNewcastlejournalist Walter Reid and first published on 1 June 1858.[2] Macliver went on to found theBristol Observer.[3] Reid took over theWestern Daily Press in 1891 and ran it till the early 20th century.[4]
TheWestern Daily was bought by Bristol United Press (BUP), the same company which publishes theBristol Evening Post, in 1960 and since 1974 has been based at the company's building in Temple Way.[5] BUP was bought in 1999 by theDaily Mail and General Trust, themedia conglomerate which also publishes mass-circulation UKtabloid theDaily Mail and became part of its Northcliffe Group of regional newspapers,[5] DMGT previously having owned a minority shareholding.As with most UK titles, theWestern Daily Press has been fighting decliningnewspaper circulation figures in recent years and now sells fewer than 15,000 copies per day.[6] This is a particular problem for theWestern Daily Press since its circulation area is very wide and costs of distributing papers and maintaining local journalists are disproportionately high.
In 2005 a number of staff were laid off at BUP titles, with management trying to achieve economies through sharing of resources between the different papers. This prompted someWestern Daily Press journalists to attempt to auction themselves oneBay as a joke.[7] TheNational Union of Journalists has been highly critical of these cuts and is particularly active in Bristol; the union says that despite declining circulation the newspapers remain extremelyprofitable, partly due toadvertising revenue, and that the economies are being driven by the unrealistic expectations ofshareholders.[8]
The current editor is Gavin Thompson, succeeding Rob Stokes[9][10] Previously Tim Dixon was editor from 2010 to 2014,[11] and Andy Wright before him. The newspaper is put together by a small team of multi-skilled journalists known as content editors, working alongside the editor, and a small team of district reporters. The playwrightTom Stoppard started his career as a journalist on theWestern Daily Press,[12] and other famous names who have worked for the paper include SirTerry Pratchett.[13]
In May 2009 it was announced that printing of the Press, and sister paper theBristol Evening Post would be moved toDidcot inOxfordshire, though the editorial departments are still based in Bristol.
This has led to some distribution timing difficulties owing to the aforementioned wide circulation area and, consequently, supplies to the far South West of the UK have now ceased.[14]In April 2010, it was announced that the editing and sub-editing of the Press would be undertaken inPlymouth and that the publication would undergo a revamp to make it similar in appearance to theWestern Morning News which is also edited and sub-edited out of Plymouth. The sale figure has subsequently plummeted.
In May 2010, it was announced that theWestern Daily Press would now be published as a single edition, and no longer in two (Somerset/Late City, Bath/Wiltshire/Severnside).
In October 2011 the editorial team returned to its former Bristol base.