Overheard a conversation today that there's only reporters left at the Mail, can this be true? If so, how can a Hartlepool institution go from being the voice of the town, something that was a must to buy, to something that seems to be totally out of touch with the town, in so short a span of time ....? If so, is it the Hartlepool Mail anymore or just the South Durham edition of the Sunderland Echo ? I'll be reading the Mail with interest in the coming weeks to see if it's true and if they bother to report it, if it is.

Maybe Frank Reid knows more ?

Banned isn't he?

From the Mail?

The ad staff are still there, the only change is if you ring up to place a birthday / death / marriage announcement, or to put a car in the paper you get put through to the sunderland echo.

Bloody bean counters.

Bloody bug*ers!

The staff has steadily been depleting since I was made redundant in September but there's still staff there other than reporters. I was in reception today and all of the reception staff were there along with the street sellers who work in the town centre.

When I was there, (3 years ago until last September) the rumours about the place closing down were always floating about. Still hasn't happened so make of that what you will.

If I hadn't been made redundant, I'm certain they would have moved me up to the Sunderland Echo but that would have been because I used to do the same job at the Sunderland Echo and knew both areas like the back of my hand.

I asked for redundency in november but no sales staff we're allowed to go as they we're still bringing money into the company, from what i hear it's still the same story.

Everyone else though there job is on the line

So where's the money going? Into JP coffers, not Northeast Press. It's nice to see JP have hired a new member for the board at the same time they're making cutbacks. As always in these situations, it's the wrong people who get the bullet.

And it ain't over yet as far as cutbacks go. More pain to come for the Mail.

I really am amazed at the way it's been salami sliced away, although it's par for the course in this town now, .... what will our MP do ?

Him and the others who use the Mail as a mouthpiece will do nothing. A town institution being withered away, people losing their jobs ... what would you expect them to do?

An MP writes .... an exercise in stating the bleedin obvious to the indifferent and a page that's passed as quick as an hand grenade with the pin out in pass the parcel .

It's happening all over the country for local and regional newspapers - printing jobs being transferred to India and departments being shut down or amalgamated into regional ones

No shiit Sherlock. Here's us thinking we were so special.

Mind you, Darlo lost the Evening Dispatch years ago ... at a time when it was winning awards for its journalism. Another good paper gone to waste ... same as the Northern Echo.

No shiit Sherlock. Here's us thinking we were so special.

Mind you, Darlo lost the Evening Dispatch years ago ... at a time when it was winning awards for its journalism. Another good paper gone to waste ... same as the Northern Echo.[/quote]

Unfortunately, awards for journalism (basically giving each other medals) doesn't bring in the money - especially with the advent of free advertisers shoved through your door.

Unfortunately, awards for journalism (basically giving each other medals) doesn't bring in the money - especially with the advent of free advertisers shoved through your door.[/quote]

True, my Loid friend. And those Advertisers were/are utter rubbish. Are they still published?

local papers are in my opinion, a bit shit.

News is no so live due to tv, internet and mobile phone you just don't need the thing.

If it wasn't for the births/deaths/marriages page half the people in this town wouldnt buy it.

"Ahhh betty look, arther kipling has died, bless him"

That's about the only reason I buy it. Just in case any relative dies, and the family forget to let me know.

The one thing you can do with a book or paper is read it anywhere whenever you want at your choosing and pace, providing it's a decent book or paper of course.

Mobiles have moved soooooooooo far forward now though, christ on sunday morning TPP needed mouldies number so he logged onto the bunker on his phone to get it off here.

You can look at any website on the go on your phone, a lot of restaurants, trains, libraries etc now come with wi fi, so you can take a laptop there.

You made a living out of the Mail for a while ... why's it shiit?

I personally think it was getting better after being dragged into the mire by Hairy Blackcock. Good human interest, good crime, shiit Pools (through no fault of the Mail).

Come on Yubep, you can't have your cake and eat it...

True, my Loid friend. And those Advertisers were/are utter rubbish. Are they still published?[/quote]
Yep, don't all newspaper groups produce them? They are full(ish) of revenue-generating adverts and little (expensive) editorial - and the customer doesn't need to buy them.

All the other things mentioned do, of course, impact on newspaper circulation which is why so many groups are turning to the internet and other commercial ventures for additional income.

For me, it's horses for courses - Sunday afternoon just ain't the same without a big newspaper (preferably broadsheet) with all the national and international news, sport, etc. - and you're still reading some of it on Tuesday. During the week, it's t'interweb, Sky News, BBCNews24, Sky Sports News and even good old teletext for updates

God how long have you got...

Yes i made a living out of it, it more than helped me there (even though i dispised the job to the core), i just feel local press is dying out and the 'need' for it is deminishing more and more every year.

And, of course, sheep fook sheep.

Throughout my childhood I remember being sent to the paper shop to get The Mail. "Mind you make sure its not the county edition Son," I was told before I set off at around 4pm to pick up this essential evening reading for my parents..

On Wednesday the paper shop didn't even open until the Mail came in so you could be stood outside for ten maybe twenty minutes until it came in!!
Believe it or onot it even used to carry "stop press" on the back of t he paper for LATE breaking stories (this was usually AFTER the yakkker edition had been printed!).

These days I son't even care wether I see it or not (having said that I tend to log onto the website for a swatch when I'm at work )...

So whats changed?? I think the movement ofthe press to mackem land and the loss of the truely "local" features has speeded its demise..

To be good as a local paper you need to base your editorial content on local issues not on articles gleaned from the mornings papers (well lets face it the latest the mail goes to press must be 9am on the day its printed...)..

By doing some "local interest " stories you may get better results..By being a little later than the morning papers with not much else in apart from announcements, adverts and the odd crap pools story approved by Mr Hovercraft you're fooked..

that sums it up perfectly

and it's not even anygood for wrapping fish and chips in

I can remember going for a christmas drink after work with all of my colleagues when I was at the Sunderland Echo about 5 or 6 years ago. Me and my mate Dave who is also from Hartlepool were having an argument with our boss saying that the internet and modern technology (24 hours news channels, mobile phones etc) would kill off local newspapers within 10 years. The boss completely disagreed and followed the blinkered view that there will always be a demand.

Once the loyal customers who are technophobes die off, so will the local press. The youth don't need such a publication. The sales figures of The Mail from 2000 (when I started at the Sunderland Echo) compared to the sales figures now are very different and back this theory up.

It's a real shame but it's something that is not exclusive to Hartlepool.

Local papers are bollocks and their is no demand for the price the Hartlepool Mail charge, why not switch it to a weekly paper. When I lived in Ellesmere Port the local rag was a weekly one and had some interesting stories in it rather than the normal crap you get in the mail to fill the edition like batty pensiorers who have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and people who grow amusing shaped vegetables.

I write match reports for our young 'uns under 16 team and send them in to Chris Young - these are published on Saturdays and I always read the 'Young Stars' feature and the other local amateur football coverage. Not much of this kind of thing is put on their web-site so the Mail is still worth getting for that I think.

Having said that I don't read much else in there - as people have said the Pools news is better and more current on the internet. I'm still buying it out of habit at the moment...

The Darlow Echo was doing a "youngstars" feature way back in 2005 but its hardly cutting edge journalism relying on reports from miscillaneous managers /parents (all who have a tendancy to "big up" their personal favourites) is it.

How about just emailing it to the parents/relations of the kids or publish it on the clubs website.. (you'd be able to see the unedited version there as well) and save them the 40 odd pence it costs to buy the chip wrapper..


(you know it makes sense)



PS Apologies for using a made up word.. If you can't see it I'm not going to tell you what it is..

Just a thought, but if the local paper does indeed die the death, who will supply the local news, new technology will only be as good as the data fed into it ..... and try wiping your arse on a laptop when the bog roll runs out.

stop trying to 'big up' your use of a made up word!

..elucidate.

True, but I get more up to date local news stories off websites like The Bunker and social networking sites than I do from The Mail. An example of this is the thread about the stabbing at Thornhill Gardens which was on here hours before it was printed in The Mail (could have been on their website I suppose)


Every bit of news about Pools is on the internet long before it is printed in The Mail.

I sincerely hope it survives but I think the writing has been on the wall for quite some time.

That one... ^^^^^

The Mail will be a weekly (or bi-weekly) before long.

.... no good to me then, I'm hetrosexual.

I said made up not miss-spelt

Or even misspelled.