The Northern Echo
Encyclopedia
The Northern Echo is a leading daily regional morning newspaper
, serving the North East
of England
. The paper is based in Priestgate, Darlington
. Its covers national as well as regional news. It is one of the UK's most famous provincial newspaper titles.
Its first edition was published on 1 January 1870. One of its editors, Harold Evans
subsequently went on to edit The Times
, but its most famous editor was probably W. T. Stead, the early pioneer of British investigative journalism
, who earned the paper accolades from the leading Liberals
of the day, and it was applauded by one as "the best paper in Europe."
with the backing of the Pease family
, largely to counter the conservative outpourings of rival newspapers, the Darlington & Stockton Times
and the Darlington Mercury. The paper enjoyed early success under its second editor, W. T. Stead
, an early pioneer of investigative journalism
, who brought the paper international notoriety during the Bulgarian Atrocities
agitation in 1876. Leading Liberals such as Gladstone
and Joseph Chamberlain
became great admirers, and the historian E. A. Freeman
went so far as to declare the Northern Echo, as "the best paper in Europe."
However, the loss of Stead to the Pall Mall Gazette
in 1880 and the resignation of founder Bell in 1889 took a heavy toll on the Echo and its sales slumped to a critical low for decades after. The collapse of the Pease dynasty and increased competition from rival newspapers added to the Echo's troubles and, by the time it limped into the twentieth century, it was on the verge of bankruptcy.
The paper was saved from ruin in 1903, when it was acquired by the North of England Newspaper Company, a group owned by chocolatiers Rowntree
. An acquisition by Westminster Press (also known as the Starmer Group) in 1921 secured the Echo's future.
In 1936 Edward Pickering
begun his apprenticeship at the Echo, eventually rising to the position of district reporter and sub-editor, before leaving to sub-edit the Daily Mirror. He eventually became editor of the Daily Express
before rising to the position of executive vice-chairman at News International
.
Whilst Sir Harold Evans was editor of the paper one of his campaigns resulted in a national programme for the detection of cervical cancer
. When Evans left the Echo in 1967, he moved to London as editor of The Sunday Times
, a post he held for 14 years, before moving on to The Times
, where he stayed just a year. Evans is currently Editor at Large
at the giant Reuters
news agency.
(Yorkshire and North East) Ltd. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations during the second half of 2010, The Northern Echo sold on average approximately 42,000 copies daily. It has four editions, covering County Durham, South Durham, Tees Valley and North Yorkshire and Darlington. In June 2008, the newspaper announced it would reduce the number of editions to two, having previously decided it may cut that to just one.
Although traditionally a broadsheet
, since 26 February 2007 the newspaper has been published in a tabloid format. The newspaper transformed itself from a broadsheet to a tabloid in a one-year transition process, beginning with Saturday editions on 14 January 2006.
The Northern Echo has a number of sister publications, including the weekly Darlington & Stockton Times
and the free Advertiser series.
In June 2011, the department store Debenhams
confirmed that it is to take over The Northern Echo’s town centre offices in Darlington - ending the paper’s 140-year link to the site. The 62,000sq ft department store is due to open by autumn 2014. The existing building was created when the site was redeveloped in 1916. New premises for the newspaper have not yet been confirmed.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, serving the North East
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The paper is based in Priestgate, Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
. Its covers national as well as regional news. It is one of the UK's most famous provincial newspaper titles.
Its first edition was published on 1 January 1870. One of its editors, Harold Evans
Harold Evans
Sir Harold Matthew Evans is a British-born journalist and writer who was editor of The Sunday Times from 1967 to 1981. He has written various books on history and journalism...
subsequently went on to edit The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, but its most famous editor was probably W. T. Stead, the early pioneer of British investigative journalism
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
, who earned the paper accolades from the leading Liberals
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
of the day, and it was applauded by one as "the best paper in Europe."
History
The Northern Echo was started by John Hyslop BellJohn Hyslop Bell
John Hyslop Bell was a journalist, newspaper owner and editor. Born in Scotland, he made his name as proprietor and editor of the South Durham Mercury in Hartlepool, which was at the time, County Durham's only morning newspaper...
with the backing of the Pease family
Pease family (Darlington)
The Pease family was a prominent English and mostly Quaker family associated with Darlington and County Durham and descended from Joseph Pease of Darlington, son of Edward Pease . They were 'one of the great Quaker industrialist families of the nineteenth century, who played a leading role in...
, largely to counter the conservative outpourings of rival newspapers, the Darlington & Stockton Times
Darlington & Stockton Times
The Darlington & Stockton Times also known as the D&S Times is a regional weekly newspaper serving the north-east of England. The paper is based in Priestgate, Darlington....
and the Darlington Mercury. The paper enjoyed early success under its second editor, W. T. Stead
William Thomas Stead
William Thomas Stead was an English journalist and editor who, as one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism, became one of the most controversial figures of the Victorian era. His 'New Journalism' paved the way for today's tabloid press...
, an early pioneer of investigative journalism
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
, who brought the paper international notoriety during the Bulgarian Atrocities
Batak massacre
Batak massacre refers to the massacre of Bulgarians in Batak by Ottoman irregular troops in 1876 at the beginning of the April Uprising. The number of victims ranges from 3,000 to 5,000, depending on the source.- The Massacre :...
agitation in 1876. Leading Liberals such as Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
and Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
became great admirers, and the historian E. A. Freeman
Edward Augustus Freeman
Edward Augustus Freeman was an English historian. His reputation as a historian rests largely on his History of the Norman Conquest , his longest completed book...
went so far as to declare the Northern Echo, as "the best paper in Europe."
However, the loss of Stead to the Pall Mall Gazette
Pall Mall Gazette
The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
in 1880 and the resignation of founder Bell in 1889 took a heavy toll on the Echo and its sales slumped to a critical low for decades after. The collapse of the Pease dynasty and increased competition from rival newspapers added to the Echo's troubles and, by the time it limped into the twentieth century, it was on the verge of bankruptcy.
The paper was saved from ruin in 1903, when it was acquired by the North of England Newspaper Company, a group owned by chocolatiers Rowntree
Rowntree's
Rowntree's was a confectionery business based in York, England. It is now a historic brand owned by Nestlé, used to market a range of fruit gums and pastilles formerly owned by Rowntree's. Following a merger with John Mackintosh & Co., the Company became known as Rowntree Mackintosh, was listed on...
. An acquisition by Westminster Press (also known as the Starmer Group) in 1921 secured the Echo's future.
In 1936 Edward Pickering
Edward Pickering (journalist)
Edward Pickering was a British newspaper editor.Born in Middlesbrough, Pickering entered journalism as an apprentice with the Northern Echo. He then moved to London as a sub-editor on the Daily Mirror, followed by the Daily Mail...
begun his apprenticeship at the Echo, eventually rising to the position of district reporter and sub-editor, before leaving to sub-edit the Daily Mirror. He eventually became editor of the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
before rising to the position of executive vice-chairman at News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
.
Whilst Sir Harold Evans was editor of the paper one of his campaigns resulted in a national programme for the detection of cervical cancer
Cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is malignant neoplasm of the cervix uteri or cervical area. One of the most common symptoms is abnormal vaginal bleeding, but in some cases there may be no obvious symptoms until the cancer is in its advanced stages...
. When Evans left the Echo in 1967, he moved to London as editor of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, a post he held for 14 years, before moving on to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, where he stayed just a year. Evans is currently Editor at Large
Editor at large
An Editor-at-Large is a journalist who contributes content to a publication.Unlike an editor who works on a publication from day-to-day and is hands on, an editor-at-large will contribute content on a regular or semi-regular basis and will have less of a say on a specific field such as layout,...
at the giant Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
news agency.
Recent events
Today, The Northern Echo is owned by NewsquestNewsquest
Newsquest is the third largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom with 300 titles in its portfolio. Newsquest is based in Weybridge, Surrey and employs a total of more than 5,500 people across the UK...
(Yorkshire and North East) Ltd. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations during the second half of 2010, The Northern Echo sold on average approximately 42,000 copies daily. It has four editions, covering County Durham, South Durham, Tees Valley and North Yorkshire and Darlington. In June 2008, the newspaper announced it would reduce the number of editions to two, having previously decided it may cut that to just one.
Although traditionally a broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
, since 26 February 2007 the newspaper has been published in a tabloid format. The newspaper transformed itself from a broadsheet to a tabloid in a one-year transition process, beginning with Saturday editions on 14 January 2006.
The Northern Echo has a number of sister publications, including the weekly Darlington & Stockton Times
Darlington & Stockton Times
The Darlington & Stockton Times also known as the D&S Times is a regional weekly newspaper serving the north-east of England. The paper is based in Priestgate, Darlington....
and the free Advertiser series.
In June 2011, the department store Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
confirmed that it is to take over The Northern Echo’s town centre offices in Darlington - ending the paper’s 140-year link to the site. The 62,000sq ft department store is due to open by autumn 2014. The existing building was created when the site was redeveloped in 1916. New premises for the newspaper have not yet been confirmed.
Editors
- John Copleston: editor 1870–71
- William Thomas SteadWilliam Thomas SteadWilliam Thomas Stead was an English journalist and editor who, as one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism, became one of the most controversial figures of the Victorian era. His 'New Journalism' paved the way for today's tabloid press...
: editor 1871–80 - John Marshall (lived c. 1856–c. 1903)
- Mark Barrington-WardMark Barrington-Ward-Life:Barrington-Ward is the son of Robert McGowan Barrington-Ward , who served with distinction in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and was editor of The Times 1941–48....
: editor 1960–61 - Sir Harold Evans: editor 1963–67
- Allan Prosser
- Peter Sands
- Andrew Smith
- Peter Barron: editor 1999–