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June 1, 2006updated 22 Nov 2022 7:35pm

One-man paper seeks new backers

By Press Gazette

Independent Bristol paper the Clifton Chronicle will close this week after its 30th issue unless a new backer or business partner can be found.

The Chronicle title was revived last November by Stan Szecowka after he was made redundant by Northcliffe’s Bristol Evening Post, where he was deputy editor. He used his redundancy pay-out to fund the launch and brought out the paper with no other full-time staff.

He told Press Gazette: “The paper has not gone bust, but this week’s issue will be the last if I cannot find a business partner. It has been good fun, but I cannot carry on as a one-man band.

“I have been working from 8am to 11pm every day, but that’s nothing special for a new business. I put my heart and soul into it and reader response has been fantastic.

“I found getting the stories easy, but the difficult thing has been having time to do everything else.”

Szecowka said sales of the paper had been building up to between 2,500 and 3,000 a week.

He added that talks were taking place with potential investors this week to try to find a way of saving the Chronicle.

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This week’s farewell issue included a picture of Wayne Rooney and a claim by the Chronicle: “Like Wayne, we want to be back.”

The Clifton Chronicle originally launched in 1850, but folded in 1928 because of a newsprint shortage.

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