The Liverpool Echo is the latest regional evening newspaper to drop editions in what it says is a bid to improve sales.
From 31 July the Trinity Mirror paper will go from four to two editions per day, printing its main edition at 10.30am and its main extra edition at 12.30pm.
It currently prints editions at 11am, 12pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm. In the latest set of ABCs, the Echo’s sales dropped 4 per cent to 120,131; in 2004 the paper sold 128,849.
A common criticism of evening papers dropping late editions is that there is less opportunity to publish late breaking news. In “exceptional circumstances” the paper says it can still recast or print a later edition.
Liverpool Echo editor Alastair Machray said: “We firmly believe this will improve our selling opportunity by enabling us to get to more outlets earlier in the day.
“People want the Echo, but they want it when it suits them and not simply when we are prepared to give it to them. We need to be out on the streets when our customers are.” Developments are being made with the Echo’s online news with a new website due to launch.
Machray said the site would be “an extension of the print product and an outlet for breaking news. As part of the changes, more breaking news will be directed to our website. This will become an increasingly important facet of our content delivery, particularly later in the day”.
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