A Nantwich councillor has called the closure of the local newspaper’s office a “big blow” for the area.
Cllr Arthur Moran spoke out after Trinity Mirror revealed it is to close the Crewe and Nantwich Chronicle offices on Victoria Street, Crewe.
The company says it is in response to a new way of working for journalists, but unions have objected to the cost-cutting move.
And Cllr Moran, a councillor on Nantwich Town Council and Cheshire East Council, says the closure will have an impact on many more people other than those who work for the newspaper.
He said: “A newspaper office is more than just a place for journalists to work from.
“It provides a drop-in for people to leave details of public notices such as funerals, or small ads, as well as snippets of news.
“I know this can be done online these days, but not everyone is comfortable with that.”
The closure comes nearly nine years after the newspaper shut its Nantwich office on Mill Street in September 2005.
“It’s a blow to the town,” added Cllr Moran.
“We have had some great service and local coverage from the Chronicle, as well as Nantwich News, and we hope that coverage is not diminished.
“I’ve always had a great relationship with local journalists since the days Alan Jervis used to work in the town.
“It was important to have an office which you could pop into for a chat and catch up and what was going on.
“It is better for a newspaper to have a physical presence in a town, so to lose that is not good news.”
Trinity Mirror told local journalists the news of the plans last week. The closure could happen as soon as May.
National Union of Journalists are calling on the company to re-think the proposals.
Nantwich content in the Nantwich Chronicle declined once Alan Jervis retired and they closed the Nantwich office. Apart from the front page the paper is the Crewe Chronicle. I used to buy the Nantwich Chronicle every week but now very rarely do so. With the Crewe office being closed I don’t hold out much hope for the long-term future of the newspaper. They will then blame the public for not buying it!
It’s sad that any business has to contract, but the Chronicle is very much a councillors’ paper. Maybe it’s lazy journalism, but it seems that their only news source is councillors and council meetings, then they print what they’ve been told, without any editorial input at all. The letters page, in particular, is just somewhere for rival councillors to push their own agendas or to squabble and childishly snipe at each other. I’d like to see the council’s views separated from the general Public’s input, and I’d also like to see much more input from others and an editorial opinion, rather than just printing whatever they’re fed.