The last remaining daily national newspaper office in Aberdeen has closed, ending a link with the city going back more than half a century.
The city centre offices of the Daily Record in Union Street were cleared on Friday with the only remaining reporter, Charlie Gall, now working from his home in Aberdeenshire.
Moves to close the office began a year when the Record’s Aberdeen bureau chief Bob Dow was made redundant. The office first opened 56-years ago and at one stage had ten editorial, circulation and back office staff.
The Herald closed its Aberdeen office just over a year ago and the Scotsman’s Aberdeen staffer works from the offices of the Mearns Leader weekly paper in Stonehaven, 15-miles south of the city.
Aberdeen was a key battle ground for the nationals in the heyday of newspapers with the Record, the Daily Mail and Daily Express all having a large staff based there.
The huge fishing industry, the arrival of North Sea oil and the Royal Family’s holiday home at Balmoral on nearby Deeside made it a fertile patch for stories.
As well as Dow and Gall, among the Record reporters who worked there over the years were Ron Main, Jimmy Gillespie, Nick Hunter, Graham Ironside, Norman Adams, Ian Cameron.
Record photographers included John Harris, Peter Turner and Robert Paterson. Its sports writers included Jimmy Menzies, Len Findlay, Ian Broadley, Iain Campbell, Derek MacGregor and Alan McCabe.
Sister paper, the Sunday Mail, also formerly had staff there including Ron Flockart, David MacDonald, Ted Kidd and Steve McKenzie.
Aberdeen still has two news agencies while the DC Thomson owned Sunday Post also has an office.
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