Oldham Chronicle to ‘restart production’ after newspaper saved by local radio station

The Oldham Evening Chronicle has been saved by a local radio station.

The daily newspaper, which closed suddenly this summer with the loss of more than 40 staff, has been bought by Revolution 96.2 which broadcasts across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside.

The sale includes the 163-year old newspaper, the monthly Extra newspaper series and Dale Times, and quarterly magazines Oldham Business Edge, The Knowledge and Primary Knowledge.

The Evening Chronicle’s former owners Hirst, Kidd and Rennie went into administration in August.

The company had struggled under a rising pension scheme deficit and “challenging trading conditions” across the news media industry, according to administrators KPMG.

The newspaper’s closure was said to have come as a “bolt from the blue” to staff, according to the National Union of Journalists.

Paul Flint, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said: “We are pleased to have found a buyer to take on the heritage of the Oldham Evening Chronicle and the ambition to restart production.

“We wish Revolution 96.2 all the best with the new venture.”

The Chronicle is set to be based in new offices “in the heart” of the Greater Manchester town, according to a statement from Revolution 96.2, and will be “returning to newsagent shelves as soon as possible”.

The station’s managing director, Matt Ramsbottom, said: “Oldham Chronicle has been the newspaper in Oldham for 163-years, the history, heritage and archives are important and should be respected.

“Printing the next edition of the Oldham Chronicle will not be without its challenges, we are working hard to pull together the various elements of the process, a significant amount of data and information was stored in the cloud and it may prove tricky to retrieve.

“However the passion, support and belief to bring back the newspaper by loyal readers and advertisers has been overwhelming.”

In the Chronicle’s absence two paid-for weekly titles covering the Greater Manchester town have launched: the Oldham Reporter (Quest Media) and Oldham Times (Newsquest).

Trinity Mirror has also launched an Oldham edition of regional daily the Manchester Evening News.

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