Reach closed its Lincoln central office in February 2020, and a year later is moving out of the city altogether. | Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite
Lincolnshire Echo, Lincolnshire Live, Grimsby Telegraph, Grimsby Live and Scunthorpe Live will have no local based offices after parent company Reach PLC decided to force most of its staff to work from home permanently.
This comes as Reach’s print titles in the region saw massive drops in their circulation (up to 27%) in 2020, with the Lincolnshire Echo losing 21% of readers, and Grimsby and Scunthorpe Telegraph titles dropping 15% and 21% respectively, according to ABC data released in February.
Reach, which is the largest UK local publisher, has 110 local news websites and print titles, but will keep only 15 offices across the UK, none of which are in Greater Lincolnshire, while most of the remaining staff have been told to serve their communities by working from home or travel to their nearest office hub — in Hull or Nottingham.
The latest round of cuts comes after 550 jobs were shed in 2020 by Reach in a bid to save £35 million as the company battled massive drops in revenue during the pandemic.
In the same year, Reach also downgraded again the Lincolnshire Echo’s offices by Brayford Pool, and moved the remaining staff to smaller offices off Doddington Road at the edge of the city, while editorship moved to Nottingham. Now, their Lincoln office will close too.
While the company was planning scaling back even more locally, the Lincolnshire Echo claimed in February 2021 that they were the most read news website in Lincolnshire, by using unverified data that is not the industry standard for web measurement in the UK.
They used ComScore data, from an American company that charges over £10,000 per year for measurements, which does not place trackers (cookies) on competitors’ websites, but does approximations instead. Based on this, they claimed that they had more than one million local readers, while incorrectly claiming The Lincolnite had just under 300,000 monthly readers.
However, Reach does share Google Analytics data for advertising enquiries, as this is the established and recognised measurement tool across the web, and free of charge.
Their own Google Analytics data showed that in October 2020, Lincolnshire Live had 314,910 unique readers. In comparison, The Lincolnite had 675,168 unique readers in October 2020 according to Google Analytics (114% more based on this data), which quickly shot up to 873,701 readers the following month.
The readership claims from Reach using unaudited ComScore data, with incorrect claims about The Lincolnite’s readers.
Reach does disclose Google Analytics data, which paints a very different picture — this is from their rate card information pack for advertisers.
The Lincolnite’s Google Analytics data, compared like for like for October 2020, shows Stonebow Media is in the lead by a very big margin.
Daniel Ionescu, Founder of Stonebow Media and Managing Editor of The Lincolnite, said: “It’s heartbreaking to see these devastating cuts on titles that are now a shadow of their former selves, which must be demoralising for the remaining staff.
“Throughout the pandemic, The Lincolnite staff worked from our city centre offices, serving our communities, and being where our readers are.
“This allowed us not only to maintain an edge over any other publication, but having no infections among staff — and weekly testing — is a testament of their fearlessness, dedication and perseverance in being the best, no matter what the world throws at you.
“Since October last year, when we merged our county-wide coverage from Lincolnshire Reporter into The Lincolnite, we have seen constant audience growth, an encouraging statistic not only for us, but for all our local advertising partners who trusted us to be there for the county.
“Having reporters in the city, on the streets, seems to be a rarity now, but The Lincolnite is a notable exception, thanks to its independence from faceless corporate investors.
“In the coming months we will expand our presence in the city and county even further, and we can’t wait to tell you all about it!”
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A 21-year-old man has tragically died after collapsing in the street on a busy Monday evening in Cleethorpes.
Emergency services attended the scene on Grant Street shortly before 7.15pm on Monday, April 12 and a man was taken to hospital for treatment.
He later sadly died and his death is not thought to be suspicious.
It was a busy night for Humberside Police as pubs and bars reopened for outdoor custom.
Police have said they will continue their enquiries to establish the cause of death.
Officers blocked off a large section of Cleethorpes High Street from the mini roundabout at the junction with Cross Street to the Alexandra Road and Market Place roundabout, according to Grimsby Live.
Emergency services were reportedly seen in the area of the Foundry Pub, formerly called O’Neill’s, which reopened to serve customers outside on the first night that beer gardens were allowed to reopen again.
A spokesperson for Humberside Police said: “A man was reported to have collapsed in the street and there was concern for his welfare and safety. Emergency services attended immediately and took a 21-year-old man to hospital for treatment.
“Sadly the man passed away in hospital. The man’s family have been informed of his death and are being supported by specially trained officers.
“Our sympathies are with his family and friends at this very difficult time.
“The circumstances of the man’s death are not thought to be suspicious and enquiries will continue to establish the cause of his passing.”
Meanwhile, it was a busy night for Humberside Police with “lots of incidents of alcohol-fuelled disorder in Ashby, Ferry Road, Westwoodside, West Butterwick and Barnetby, resulting in 5 people in custody.”
People aged over 45 can now book their COVID vaccinations on the NHS website after the government reached its target of offering a first dose to the nine most vulnerable groups.
There were recently some technical difficulties for people accessing the NHS website, but vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the issues have been fixed – book a vaccine online here and find out if you are eligible.
NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said that 19 out of 20 of those most at risk of the virus have been vaccinated.
This comes ahead of the deadline of April 15 to have offered everyone in the top nine priority cohorts a COVID-19 vaccine, and England passing 27 million first doses as part of more than 32 million being given across the UK.
The aim is to offer all adults a vaccine by the end of July.
Sir Simon Stevens said: “Vaccinating 19 out of 20 people aged 50 and over is an incredible milestone.
“Thanks to our NHS nurses, doctors, pharmacists, operational managers and thousands of other staff and volunteers, the NHS Covid vaccination programme is without a doubt the most successful in our history. It’s one of our tickets out of this pandemic and offers real hope for the future.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I want to thank everyone involved in the vaccine rollout which has already saved many thousands of lives.
“We will now move forward with completing essential second doses and making progress towards our target of offering all adults a vaccine by the end of July.”
Meanwhile, the first Moderna jab will be delivered in England on Tuesday, April 13 as the NHS vaccination programme reaches another milestone.
More than 20 sites will initially use the newest vaccine as the NHS continues to expand the vaccination programme.
For anyone aged 18-29 who is eligible for a jab, the Moderna vaccine provides another alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine, amid concerns over blood clotting.
Lincoln City winger Morgan Rogers has won the EFL’s Young Player of the Month award after some dazzling displays in March.
The Manchester City teenager, on loan at the Imps until the end of the season, scored three goals in seven games in March to pick up the award.
It comes as the 18-year-old’s influence on the team continues to grow, ahead of a League One promotion push at the end of the season.
Lincoln City currently find themselves in sixth place, hanging onto a play-off spot by a thread, with just eight games remaining of the regular season.
The England under-18 international said: “I’m really happy to have won the award and appreciate whoever chose me to win it.
“My aims now are to keep progressing and keep improving. I want to try and get as many goals and assists as possible but more importantly contribute to the team and make sure we’re winning games.
“I just need to keep learning and keep improving and see wherever this journey takes me.”
Next up for the Imps will be a home match against MK Dons on Tuesday, April 13, before two away trips to Bristol Rovers and Burton Albion on Saturday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 20 respectively.
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