Trinity Mirror axes weekly Ellesmere Port Pioneer after 96 years in print

Trinity Mirror has axed its weekly title the Ellesmere Port Pioneer after 96 years of editions.

The publisher said it had closed the paper following the “move to online news consumption”, as print publishers struggle to arrest the move of readers from print to online.

The last issue of the title was published on 27 December and Trinity Mirror said there would be no job losses. The paper did not have a dedicated staff and those who worked on it will now have other roles within the group.

Trinity Mirror’s North West editor-in-chief Alastair Machray said: “Naturally it’s a very sad day when any print newspaper reaches the end of its life cycle.

“The Pioneer has a long and rich history of brave, informative campaigning journalism on behalf of the people of Ellesmere Port.

“The move to online news consumption has been relentless though and we are delighted that the Chester Chronicle and the Liverpool Echo have been at the forefront of developing high-quality, desktop, mobile and tablet websites as well as excellent apps.

“The audience to those, and to the Pioneer’s Facebook page is growing fast and we are confident and determined that we will continue to provide first-rate coverage of Ellesmere Port in the manner in which readers and advertisers want to receive it.’’

Trinity Mirror said stories about the Cheshire town will be covered by sister title the Liverpool Echo and the Chester Chronicle, while a Pioneer Facebook page will remain open.

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the title registered an average circulation paid-for circulation of 1,143 in the period January to December 2016, compared to 3,865 five years previous.

In September this year, Trinity Mirror said it was axing up to 40 jobs across its portfolio of regional titles, as it expands content sharing between newspapers and looks to the Press Association to provide it with more “page-ready” news.

Trinity Mirror has closed a number of other weekly titles in recent months including the Surrey & Hants Star Courier and the Bristol Observer.