Echo of the Sunday Tribune

Local media is something that is fundamental to a functioning and transparent community. So when a local paper closes, the scope to interact with a community is lost.  A free and fair media is central to any society.  One less newspaper means one less perspective on life.  I miss the Sunday Tribune and The Irish Press. Their demise didn’t mean that readership of continuing titles increased. A newspaper says something about it’s readers, it’s a badge and you can tell a lot about a community by the titles they read.

But the loss of a paper takes something away from a community. So when the Wexford Echo suddenly closed it is easy to see why there is a sense of loss in Co Wexford. There was no warning, the termination in publishing was fast and rapid. The Echo group publishes 4 titles, one in each of the 4 districts in the county.  The paper was strong on local sport and the arts. As recently as 5 years ago the echo won a national award as the regional newspaper of the year. The paper has been a breeding ground for many journalists who went on to bigger and better things on the national stage.  So how can this happen?

The mainstay of the group was the Enniscorthy Echo which was the dominant title in what was for a long time Co Wexford’s second town.  Enniscorthy’s economy has been in decline for sometime. Shops are closing and the main street has seen footfall decrease.  Where were Enniscorthy’s political representatives down through the years when all this was going on? Enniscorthy is now reaping a bitter harvest of political neglect by Fianna Fail for decades.  Less business in the town means less ads. Advertising is crucial to any newspaper. Readership is important too but freesheets prove that cover price is not absolutely essential to the mix.

Newspaper readership is in decline as punters look to online and more immediate sources for their news. Put the 2 factors together and you get the picture of what has been going on in the background. The group was sold by a local family to the Examiner group from Cork in the early part of the decade in a multi-million deal.  

It’s over 2 weeks since the paper shut up shop. There were early indications that another buyer may be interested in purchasing the 4 titles within the county and to re-launch the publications.  Where that suggestion is at the minute is top secret.

While there are hopes to revive the titles, it is certain that any return will be under a different cost structure.  It will remain to be seen as to how a revived Echo newspaper group can be put together working on the new  business realities in the media. I’ll declare an interest. I write a column for a freesheet which is owned by the rival stable the People Group Newspapers.  But I believe there is room there for 2 groups in Co Wexford.  

In the round newspapers are fair to all involved in politics. If a politician feels hard done by one week, they do balance it in time.  I’ve found the journalists I’ve dealt with down through the years to be honest, hard working and well briefed with often a good sense of humour thrown in!  A newspaper gives all its readers one singular set of facts that readers can either accept or reject communally. At a time of fake news and instant spin this commodity is becoming rare.
Fingers crossed the group can be revived for them and their reader's sake.