Newsquest has replaced two free weekly papers with paid-for titles in Dorset rebooting a heritage news brand last published by the group in the 1980s.
The new titles, the Bournemouth Herald and Poole Herald, are being produced by the team behind the Bournemouth Daily Echo and are said to “fully complement” the daily paper.
The Herald papers have a cover price of 40p and replace the Bournemouth Advertiser and Poole Advertiser. They will be sold in selected retailers while some copies will be free to pick up.
The move follows the launch of the Christchurch Times in March, a largely free publication that Newsquest claims sells 1,000 copies a week through retailers in the town. It replaced the Christchurch Advertiser.
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Daily Echo editor Andy Martin said: “All three [titles] have been incredibly well received, especially the Christchurch Times which has a very traditional look and has been selling extremely well and way above our initial expectations.
“There appears to be a huge appetite across our area for reviving heritage titles which have a real community feel and focus. The titles fully complement what we are doing in the Daily Echo.”
Newsquest said all three papers have seen a “substantial rise in advertising revenue” compared with the previous titles.
The group has hired two journalism graduates from Bournemouth University to “focus” on the new Times and Herald titles, with both also reporting for the Daily Echo.
About 20 editorial staff work across the Daily Echo, local weeklies and several weekly and monthly magazines for Newsquest.
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