Johnston Press closures mean more than 300 UK local newspapers have gone in last ten years

More than 300 local newspapers have been closed in the past ten years, according to Press Gazette research.

Johnston Press yesterday announced it had closed 11 free newspapers across the UK, meaning it has axed 22 titles since 2012.

Among them was free weekly the Northampton Mercury, which was 295 years old and claims to be the oldest UK newspaper with a proven record of continuous publication.

The closures come at a time when the UK regional press continues to be hit with widespread redundancies.

Before the financial crash of 2008 the Newspaper Society estimated there were 13,000 journalists employed in the regional press. The trade body (now called the News Media Association) no longer keeps figures, but Press Gazette's preliminary research of Companies House figures kept by individual companies suggest that the current total may be half that figure.

Previous Press Gazette research found that 242 regional and local newspapers were closed between 2005 and 2011.

And at least 60 have been closed since 2012 – including 23 so far in 2015.

In the same period, Press Gazette has found just over 100 new newspapers launched. This year, for instance, Newsquest has launched four new newspapers or newspaper editions, and Tindle has launched five titles in London.

In contrast Trinity Mirror has closed more newspapers – 12 – than Johnston Press. It has also closed at least 22 since 2012.

According to the News Media Association there are 1,100 local newspaper titles in the UK.

Closed newspapers since 2012 (Press Gazette research)

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