Goodbye to Times & Echo
Goodbye to Times & Echo
Three Staffordshire newspapers, produced by the only family run, independent newspaper and magazine business in the county, have closed down.
The final editions of the Cheadle & Tean Times, which was established in 1896, and its sister newspapers of the Uttoxeter Echo and the Leek & Moorlands Echo, were on 5 July.
Editor and publisher Paul Campbell said: “It is with great sadness we are reporting the end of an era here at the Times & Echo publications.”
He added: “I would like to thank you our readers, advertisers, contributors and friends for your support over the years – we couldn’t have done it without you.
“Local newspapers of our size, together with many others in the industry, have struggled to regain the pre-pandemic volumes of income needed to justify their existence. So it is with a heavy heart that I have decided to retire and in doing so close the business which has served the community since 1896.
Paul said: “This has been an extremely difficult decision but one I believe has to be taken. While remembering the titles we should also remember the dedicated teams across the years, in particular the current excellent team, who have worked tirelessly to produce them. They have been truly local newspapers produced by local people for local people.
“A fond farewell to all of you, from all of us.”
He told media website Hold The Front Page: “I have been trying unsuccessfully to sell the business for the last two years. I’m 70 in a month or so and after 50 plus years of “minding the shop”- it’s time I retired.”
Reader Geoff Irving commented: “Always desperately sad when something part of local life has to disappear. Ever since I came to this area in the early 1970s, I became aware of how much your newspaper was a traditional symbol of the local community. Paul and his family and staff have always tried to move with the times in an everchanging world but still focus on the interests of all ages in Cheadle and surrounding area.
“Unfortunately the pandemic has seen the demise not only of local population but valued parts of local/rural life. This now sadly includes the local paper. Many thanks Paul and crew. You should feel proud of your contribution to the community.”
