The Midlands News Association has closed a weekly digest magazine for Shropshire after less than eight months, saying it had been “extremely difficult” to achieve the necessary sales to sustain the new title.
Shropshire Weekly launched on 2 March and was aimed at people who “no longer feel they have time” to read a daily newspaper like the Shropshire Star, which is also owned by the MNA.
It was therefore designed to cover “everything that matters” in the region, a spokesperson for the regional publisher said at the time.
In a statement on the magazine’s website, editor Thom Kennedy announced the MNA had “reluctantly” decided to close the publication as its sales had not grown enough to become sustainable.
The last edition of the magazine, priced at £2.50, was published on 26 October.
Kennedy (pictured, left) wrote: “Shropshire Weekly was a bold attempt to do something different in the local publishing market and proved to be an excellent magazine showcasing some superb journalism.
“Unfortunately, achieving the necessary sales to make Shropshire Weekly a sustainable publication proved extremely difficult.
“Closing the magazine is disappointing, but every effort has been made to ensure we retain the best elements of the magazine for use in our sister daily newspaper the Shropshire Star.
“In the meantime, I would like to thank all our readers, distribution partners and advertisers for the support and enthusiasm you showed to Shropshire Weekly.”
An MNA spokesperson told Press Gazette there had been no redundancies as a result of the closure, with staff instead moving into other editorial roles on the Shropshire Star.
Picture: MNA
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