The sale of Afro-Caribbean weekly newspaper New Nation will be an ‘enormous task’, but a number of potential buyers have shown an interest, according to the title’s administrator.
New Nation ceased trading on Monday after a “dramatic fall in advertising revenues” meant there was no longer enough cashflow to keep the business running.
Its parent company, the Ethnic Media Group, was placed into administration – and all 25 staff working at the publisher were made redundant.
A second title published by the group, Asian newspaper Eastern Eye, has since found a buyer, meaning at least some of those jobs are likely to be saved.
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Robert Smailes, an administrator at London accounantcy firm Shipleys, told Press Gazette that selling New Nation was now an “immediate priority”.
“The difficulties facing the media industry at this time have been well documented and it is unfortunate that this company has been forced into administration,” Smailes said in a statement last night.
“The downturn in the economy has contributed to a dramatic fall in advertising revenues and there has been pressure on the circulation numbers.”
He said Shipleys was “pro-actively encouraging expressions of interest, in an attempt to secure a continuation of the New Nation brand”.
But he said there could no guarantee that a sale would be concluded at a time when there is little in the way of credit available to finance new business investments.
“I am in dialogue with a number of interested parties and hope a purchaser will be found shortly,” Smailes added.
“The enormity of this task in the current environment cannot be over-emphasised, particularly as much of the industry is struggling.”
A sale of Eastern Eye – and the rights to the annual Asian Business Awards – was concluded on Wednesday night, for an undisclosed sum.
Its buyer is the Asian Media and Marketing Group, the publisher of titles including Asian Trader and Pharmacy Business.
The company publishes Asian Trader, Pharmacy Business and Asian Hospitality and runs the GG2 Leadership & Diversity Awards, the Asian Trader Awards and the Pharmacy Business Awards.
Eastern Eye editor Hamant Verma has claimed that his paper, which was founded in 1989, had helped subsidise New Nation for some time.
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