Daniel Gregory’s weekly column: New era for sport coverage in Scarborough
David and Cat enjoy reading the new Scarborough News. Picture by Andrew Higgins 122066d 19/05/12
IT’S all change in the world of newspapers at the moment, and we’re no different here in Scarborough.
For the past two or so years since I started at the Evening News, there has been talk of the paper changing to a weekly, just like our sister titles in Bridlington, Malton and Whitby - and now our turn has come.
All over the country, papers are cutting back and converting to once a week publishing while also adjusting to the digital first world we now live in.
News is so readily available on the internet that circulation figures have been on a gradual decline for many a year.
The introduction of the social network sites like Facebook and Twitter have sped up the process of local newspapers having to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape.
Yes, it is a huge shame that Scarborough won’t have a daily newspaper anymore. It will be a big change to the way that people in this town receive their news.
For over 100 years the Scarborough Evening News has been on hand to question the council, chase down local stories and cover all the sport the town has had to offer.
Certainly in my lifetime I can remember picking up an Evening News to read all about Yorkshire winning the County Championship at North Marine Road, Scarborough hosting Chelsea, among other high-profile clubs, and all the dramatic twists and turns that ended with the sad demise of Scarborough FC and the subsequent flattening of the iconic Athletic Ground.
People will choose to look at it from many different angles and they are perfectly entitled to do so.
The 136-page Scarborough News, which is launched next Thursday May 31, will take over where the Evening News left off.
A brand new website will follow as well as an iPad app, for the technically minded people in the town.
How will this change the way people can access their sports news on a regular basis?
It would be very easy to think that you would have to wait from finishing a football or cricket match on a Saturday afternoon and then wait until Thursday morning to pick up the paper and read the match report.
As I mentioned above, the world of Facebook and and even more so Twitter, prevents us from doing that as it would be ‘old news’.
As an example of how the change will effect the sports coverage in Scarborough - I will be publishing the local Saturday League football round-ups and pictures on a Saturday evening, rather than people having to wait until Monday to see how their rivals, former teams or family and friends have got on on the pitch.
Similarly, local sport will be published live, as and when it happens and people will be kept up to date with what is going on via Twitter and Facebook, among other things.
I would say, instead of viewing this change as a negative one, that it can be looked at in a more positive manner.
This move was always going to happen. Ask any expert or newspaper owner and they will tell you, the way people get their news is changing, and we have to change with it or there will be no paper at all come five years time.
We were shown the new paper last week and I have to admit, I am impressed with the new design, layout and concept of The Scarborough News.
Designed by the same team that created the new paper brought out by the Independent, i, it has a fresh, modern appeal to it and will no doubt be a success.
We have some new ideas to shake up the sports coverage as well so look out for those too.
We will be letting everyone who is on Facebook and Twitter know what’s going online and what will be featured on the 15-20 sport pages every Thursday.
Follow our Twitter accounts at @SN_Sport,
@mrdanielgregory and @dowzinho for regular updates, and we’re on Facebook too so look us up there.
If you have any questions about the change or have any suggestions on what you’d like to see in the new paper, email me at daniel.gregory@jpress.co.uk or ring me on 01723 383858.
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Weather for Scarborough
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 6 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 25 mph
Wind direction: North west
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Light rain
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