March 19, 2021 1.43 pm
This story is over 15 months old
Out of Reach: Lincolnshire Echo and Grimsby Telegraph closing offices
Don’t worry! The Lincolnite is here to stay
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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We are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage after a collision caused serious injuries to a 23-year-old man.
Just before 3.30pm yesterday (2 July), we received reports of a collision on Barholm Road in Tallington. It involved a grey BMW 335D estate, a blue BMW 116D and an orange KTM motorcycle.
The motorcycle rider, a 23-year-old man, sustained serious injuries during the collision and was taken to hospital.
If you witnessed the incident and are yet to get in touch with us, please do so. If you have any other information or dashcam footage available that may have captured the road along the A1175 at the time of the collision, get in touch.
By calling 101 quoting incident 282 of 2 July.
By emailing [email protected] quoting incident 282 of 2 July in the subject line.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can report via the independent charity CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.
The 2022 Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards are open for applications, and Destination Lincolnshire giving you the rare chance to co-create your application with Nell Barrington, a tourism awards veteran, who has helped hundreds of businesses write winning applications over the last 15 years – including national VisitEngland winners.
The Tourism Awards Masterclass is taking place on Tuesday 12 July at 11am for one-hour online. Laura Freer, Head of Marketing at Destination Lincolnshire said: “This is a golden opportunity, after years of hard work and heartache, to get your business and team recognised and rewarded.
“A well written application is key to achieving a coveted place on this year’s shortlist, and I’d encourage all tourism and visitor economy businesses who are thinking of entering – whether they are seasoned at writing award applications or not – to join us for this exclusive masterclass.
“Nell Barrington has worked with us and VisitEngland on the founding application processes of these awards, and she is perfectly placed to assist in co-creating applications that you can be proud of. This is a great opportunity for business development too – whether you are shortlisted for an award or not – discovering how to effectively apply for awards and talk up your business adds another string to your bow.
“Booking is essential and places are limited to just 35 – so be quick! This year we’ve made our masterclass available to partners and also to those who we are yet to work with for free. Call it an added bonus, after two years away from the awards circuit.
The awards masterclass is focussed on the application process, and it will spell out what the judges are looking for. You’ll learn how to make your application stand out from the local competition, helping your chances of going through to the national VisitEngland Awards in 2023.”
There are fifteen categories open for nominations from visitors attraction, accommodation providers, hospitality businesses and many more.
The deadline for nominations is July 29, with online judging starting on July 30 and mystery shopping from August 13. Finalists will be announced on Monday, August 15.
The awards ceremony will be held at the Engine Shed on October 21, and will be hosted by Lincs FM presenter, John Marshall.
The event is organised by Stonebow Media, publishers of The Lincolnite, to celebrate the best businesses in Greater Lincolnshire, alongside headline sponsors Lincoln College and Destination Lincolnshire.
We would also like to thank our other sponsors Visit Lincolnshire, Heart of Lincs, Duncan and Toplis and LNER, insight6 and EV Camel.
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