Sunderland Echo: Difference between revisions
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The ''Sunderland Echo'' covers a circulation area of {{convert|40|sqmi|km2}} in North East England, which includes parts of [[South Tyneside]] and [[County Durham]], as well as the city of Sunderland. [[Whitburn, South Tyneside|Whitburn]], [[Marsden, Tyne and Wear|Marsden]] and [[The Boldons]], all to the north of Sunderland, are among the South Tyneside communities covered. [[Peterlee]], [[Horden]], [[Seaham]], [[Dawdon]], [[Murton, County Durham|Murton]] and [[Seaton, County Durham|Seaton]], to the south of Sunderland, are the main towns and villages in the East Durham circulation area. The paper is also sold in [[Washington, Tyne and Wear|Washington]], [[Bournmoor|Burnmoor]] and [[Durham, England|Durham]], which are to the west of Sunderland. Villages on the outskirts of the city, including [[Houghton-le-Spring]], [[Penshaw]], [[Fencehouses]], [[Ryhope]] and [[Hetton-le-Hole]] are included in the circulation area too.<ref name="statistics"/><ref name="homepage">{{cite web|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com|title=Home page for the Sunderland Echo|accessdate=24 February 2008 |publisher=''Sunderland Echo'' |year=2008}}</ref> The main newspaper rivals in the Sunderland and County Durham area include ''[[The Northern Echo]]'', ''[[The Journal (newspaper)|The Journal]]'', the ''[[Hartlepool Mail]]'' and the ''[[Evening Chronicle]]''. The ''Sunderland Star'', a free weekly newspaper printed by the ''Echo'', is also distributed in the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nsdatabase.co.uk/newspaperdetail.cfm?paperid=1012|title=Newspaper Report for the publication: Sunderland Star |
The ''Sunderland Echo'' covers a circulation area of {{convert|40|sqmi|km2}} in North East England, which includes parts of [[South Tyneside]] and [[County Durham]], as well as the city of Sunderland. [[Whitburn, South Tyneside|Whitburn]], [[Marsden, Tyne and Wear|Marsden]] and [[The Boldons]], all to the north of Sunderland, are among the South Tyneside communities covered. [[Peterlee]], [[Horden]], [[Seaham]], [[Dawdon]], [[Murton, County Durham|Murton]] and [[Seaton, County Durham|Seaton]], to the south of Sunderland, are the main towns and villages in the East Durham circulation area. The paper is also sold in [[Washington, Tyne and Wear|Washington]], [[Bournmoor|Burnmoor]] and [[Durham, England|Durham]], which are to the west of Sunderland. Villages on the outskirts of the city, including [[Houghton-le-Spring]], [[Penshaw]], [[Fencehouses]], [[Ryhope]] and [[Hetton-le-Hole]] are included in the circulation area too.<ref name="statistics"/><ref name="homepage">{{cite web|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com|title=Home page for the Sunderland Echo|accessdate=24 February 2008 |publisher=''Sunderland Echo'' |year=2008}}</ref> The main newspaper rivals in the Sunderland and County Durham area include ''[[The Northern Echo]]'', ''[[The Journal (newspaper)|The Journal]]'', the ''[[Hartlepool Mail]]'' and the ''[[Evening Chronicle]]''. The ''Sunderland Star'', a free weekly newspaper printed by the ''Echo'', is also distributed in the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nsdatabase.co.uk/newspaperdetail.cfm?paperid=1012|title=Newspaper Report for the publication: Sunderland Star|accessdate=6 March 2007|publisher=The Newspaper Society|year=2007|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714180613/http://www.nsdatabase.co.uk/newspaperdetail.cfm?paperid=1012|archivedate=14 July 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="othernews">{{cite web|url=http://www.world-newspapers.com/north-east.html|title=World-Newspapers Europe UK North East|accessdate=15 July 2008 |publisher=World Newspapers website |year=2008}}</ref> According to independent research conducted on behalf of the ''Echo'' in 2000, the "popularity of the ''Echo'' in Sunderland and East Durham is greater than that of all other regional newspapers put together".<ref name="echoresearch">{{cite book |title=Simply the best! |date=21 November 2000 |publisher=''Sunderland Echo'' |page=3}}</ref> |
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In addition to the main newspaper, the ''Echo'' also produces a number of regular supplements and articles of specialist interest each week. These include sport and business supplements each Monday, a ''Down Your Way'' [[local news]] supplement on Tuesdays, jobs, [[Association football|junior football]] and nostalgia features on Wednesdays, an entertainment supplement, cars guide and nostalgia stories on Thursdays and a property pull-out on Fridays. The Saturday edition includes a leisure pull-out, featuring fashion, entertainment and restaurant reviews, while a local history nostalgia supplement, ''Retro'', is published once a month.<ref name="newsmatters"/><ref name="retro">{{cite web|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com/CustomPages/CustomPage.aspx?sectionid=14647|title=Retro|accessdate=24 February 2008 |publisher=''Sunderland Echo'' |year=2008 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080527120349/http://www.sunderlandecho.com/CustomPages/CustomPage.aspx?sectionid=14647 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 27 May 2008}}</ref> Nostalgia calendars, featuring old photographs of Sunderland and Seaham, are also produced.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com/daily/Your-favourite-photographs.3237692.jp|title=Your favourite photos |accessdate=6 March 2007|author=Sarah Stoner|publisher=''Sunderland Echo''|date=27 September 2007 }}</ref> |
In addition to the main newspaper, the ''Echo'' also produces a number of regular supplements and articles of specialist interest each week. These include sport and business supplements each Monday, a ''Down Your Way'' [[local news]] supplement on Tuesdays, jobs, [[Association football|junior football]] and nostalgia features on Wednesdays, an entertainment supplement, cars guide and nostalgia stories on Thursdays and a property pull-out on Fridays. The Saturday edition includes a leisure pull-out, featuring fashion, entertainment and restaurant reviews, while a local history nostalgia supplement, ''Retro'', is published once a month.<ref name="newsmatters"/><ref name="retro">{{cite web|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com/CustomPages/CustomPage.aspx?sectionid=14647|title=Retro|accessdate=24 February 2008 |publisher=''Sunderland Echo'' |year=2008 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080527120349/http://www.sunderlandecho.com/CustomPages/CustomPage.aspx?sectionid=14647 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 27 May 2008}}</ref> Nostalgia calendars, featuring old photographs of Sunderland and Seaham, are also produced.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com/daily/Your-favourite-photographs.3237692.jp|title=Your favourite photos |accessdate=6 March 2007|author=Sarah Stoner|publisher=''Sunderland Echo''|date=27 September 2007 }}</ref> |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Echofrombridge.jpg|thumb|left|The Bridge Street base of the Echo, taken from Wearmouth Bridge in the 1960s]] --> |
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The ''Sunderland Echo'' was launched with an initial investment of £3,500, raised by donations of £500 each from Storey and his business partners.<ref name="riverpeople"/><ref>Footnote reference: According to the website Measuringworth.com, £3,500 in 1873 had a purchasing power equivalent to about £242,240.36 today.</ref> Those joining the venture were [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]] banker Edward Backhouse, [[Shipbroking|shipbroker]] and MP Edward Temperley Gourley, [[shipbuilder]] and MP Sir Charles Palmer, newspaper editor Richard Ruddock, rope-maker Thomas Glaholm and draper Thomas Scott Turnbull.<ref name="oldechoo"/> Lack of experience—only Ruddock had previous knowledge of newspaper management—and over-optimistic estimates of costs meant that the initial funds were quickly exhausted.<ref name="riverpeople"/><ref name="wearsideonline"/><ref name="archiveechoo">{{cite book |title=Echo founding fathers |date=22 December 1923 |publisher=''Sunderland Daily Echo'' |page=7 }}</ref> Storey later admitted: "In our childlike, simple ways, we thought this might be sufficient, but in a few months all the money was gone, so we paid in another £3,500 and that soon went too."<ref name="archiveechoo"/> As the prospect of any great financial success receded, Ruddock, Gourley and Palmer withdrew from the project. Storey, however, remained dedicated to the idea, and took on their shares.<ref name="oldechoo"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.competition-commission.gov.uk/rep_pub/reports/1999/fulltext/428c3.pdf|format=PDF|title=Share history|accessdate=24 February 2008 |
The ''Sunderland Echo'' was launched with an initial investment of £3,500, raised by donations of £500 each from Storey and his business partners.<ref name="riverpeople"/><ref>Footnote reference: According to the website Measuringworth.com, £3,500 in 1873 had a purchasing power equivalent to about £242,240.36 today.</ref> Those joining the venture were [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]] banker Edward Backhouse, [[Shipbroking|shipbroker]] and MP Edward Temperley Gourley, [[shipbuilder]] and MP Sir Charles Palmer, newspaper editor Richard Ruddock, rope-maker Thomas Glaholm and draper Thomas Scott Turnbull.<ref name="oldechoo"/> Lack of experience—only Ruddock had previous knowledge of newspaper management—and over-optimistic estimates of costs meant that the initial funds were quickly exhausted.<ref name="riverpeople"/><ref name="wearsideonline"/><ref name="archiveechoo">{{cite book |title=Echo founding fathers |date=22 December 1923 |publisher=''Sunderland Daily Echo'' |page=7 }}</ref> Storey later admitted: "In our childlike, simple ways, we thought this might be sufficient, but in a few months all the money was gone, so we paid in another £3,500 and that soon went too."<ref name="archiveechoo"/> As the prospect of any great financial success receded, Ruddock, Gourley and Palmer withdrew from the project. Storey, however, remained dedicated to the idea, and took on their shares.<ref name="oldechoo"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.competition-commission.gov.uk/rep_pub/reports/1999/fulltext/428c3.pdf|format=PDF|title=Share history|accessdate=24 February 2008|publisher=Competition Commission|year=2007|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230111235/http://www.competition-commission.gov.uk/rep_pub/reports/1999/fulltext/428c3.pdf|archivedate=30 December 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> A further £7,000 in investment from Storey enabled the remaining partners to abandon the "wheezing flat-bed press"<ref name="archiveechoo"/> and, in July 1876, the ''Echo'' moved to new premises at 14 Bridge Street, Sunderland.<ref name="oldechoo"/> |
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=== Bridge Street === |
=== Bridge Street === |
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=== Second World War === |
=== Second World War === |
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The Second World War brought havoc to [[Wearside]], with Sunderland one of the seven most heavily bombed towns in the country.<ref name="sunbomb">{{cite web|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com/daily/Hitler-his-part-in-our.1026657.jp|title=Hitler: his part in our town fall|accessdate=24 February 2008 |author=Carol Roberton |publisher=''Sunderland Echo''|date=13 May 2005 }}</ref> Despite the heavy shelling of the North East coast and [[River Wear]], the ''Echo'' offices and printing plant escaped undamaged. The ''Shields Gazette'', the ''Echo's'' nearest rival, was not as fortunate. Its premises in Chapter Row, [[South Shields]], were bombed in September 1941 and, under an emergency wartime arrangement, the paper was printed on the ''Echo'' presses.<ref name="warrechoes"/><ref name="shieldsbomb">{{cite web|url=http://www.ne-diary.bpears.org.uk/Inc/ISeq_23.html|title=Incidents 11 September 1941 to 1 October 1941|accessdate=24 February 2008 |
The Second World War brought havoc to [[Wearside]], with Sunderland one of the seven most heavily bombed towns in the country.<ref name="sunbomb">{{cite web|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com/daily/Hitler-his-part-in-our.1026657.jp|title=Hitler: his part in our town fall|accessdate=24 February 2008 |author=Carol Roberton |publisher=''Sunderland Echo''|date=13 May 2005 }}</ref> Despite the heavy shelling of the North East coast and [[River Wear]], the ''Echo'' offices and printing plant escaped undamaged. The ''Shields Gazette'', the ''Echo's'' nearest rival, was not as fortunate. Its premises in Chapter Row, [[South Shields]], were bombed in September 1941 and, under an emergency wartime arrangement, the paper was printed on the ''Echo'' presses.<ref name="warrechoes"/><ref name="shieldsbomb">{{cite web|url=http://www.ne-diary.bpears.org.uk/Inc/ISeq_23.html|title=Incidents 11 September 1941 to 1 October 1941|accessdate=24 February 2008|author=Brian Pears|publisher=North-East Diary 1939–1945 website|year=2005|quote="The Shields Gazette Offices and Printing Works received a direct hit by heavy calibre bombs, the whole printing department and part of the offices were wrecked."|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813192927/http://www.ne-diary.bpears.org.uk/Inc/ISeq_23.html|archivedate=13 August 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The ''Echo'' continued to be published throughout the war, despite paper [[rationing]], a lack of reporters and a strict censorship of photographs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com/wearside-echoes/Can-you-help-us-tell.2077628.jp|title=Can you help us tell Wearside's wartime tale|accessdate=24 February 2008 |author=Carol Roberton |publisher=''Sunderland Echo''|date=26 February 2007}}</ref> The war did have one major impact on the ''Echo''—in the form of its size. Wartime restrictions on newsprint reduced the former broadsheet to its present tabloid size, and this style has been retained ever since.<ref name="sunarchives"/><ref name="warrechoes">{{cite book |title=70 Years Old Today |date=22 December 1943 |publisher=''Sunderland Echo'' |page=2}}</ref> |
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=== Post-war changes and centenary === |
=== Post-war changes and centenary === |
Revision as of 04:19, 30 September 2017
![]() The first edition of the Echo – on 22 December 1873 | |
Type | Daily newspaper |
---|---|
Format | Tabloid |
Owner(s) | Johnston Press |
Publisher | Northeast Press |
Editor | Joy Yates |
Founded | 22 December 1873 (as The Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette) |
Political alignment | Independent |
Language | English |
Headquarters | 2nd Floor, Alexander House, 1 Mandarin Road, Rainton Bridge Business Park, Houghton-le-Spring, DH4 5RA. |
Circulation | 12,825 daily[1] |
Sister newspapers | Hartlepool Mail, Shields Gazette |
Website | http://www.sunderlandecho.com |
The Sunderland Echo is an evening newspaper serving the Sunderland, South Tyneside and East Durham areas of North East England.[2] The newspaper was founded by Samuel Storey, Edward Backhouse, Edward Temperley Gourley, Charles Palmer, Richard Ruddock, Thomas Glaholm and Thomas Scott Turnbull in 1873, as the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette.[3] Designed to provide a platform for the Radical views held by Storey and his partners, it was also Sunderland's first local daily paper.[4][5]
The inaugural edition of the Echo was printed in Press Lane, Sunderland on 22 December 1873; 1,000 copies were produced and sold for a halfpenny each.[3] The Echo survived intense competition in its early years, as well as the depression of the 1930s and two World Wars. Sunderland was heavily bombed in the Second World War and, although the Echo building was undamaged, it was forced to print its competitor's paper under wartime rules. It was during this time that the paper's format changed, from a broadsheet to its current tabloid layout, because of national newsprint shortages.[6]
The Echo is published Monday–Saturday and is part of the Johnston Press group—one of the United Kingdom's largest publishers of local and regional newspapers.[7] As of December 2016, the paper had an average daily circulation of 12,825.[8][9][10] It retails at 75 pence.[11] The Echo was based at Echo House, Pennywell Industrial Estate, Sunderland, from 1976 until April 2015. It now shares a site with sister papers the Hartlepool Mail and Shields Gazette at Alexander House, 1 Mandarin Road, Rainton Bridge Business Park, Houghton-le-Spring.[12]
General overview
Facts and figures
The Sunderland Echo is an award-winning evening newspaper, published from Monday to Saturday each week.[13] The paper has a daily circulation of 12,825,[1] with an overall readership of 41,557, representing about 12.5% of adults in the area.[8] The news coverage provided by the Echo focuses mainly on local events, including human interest, crime and court stories, as well as reports on the local Premier League football team, Sunderland AFC.[14]
Reader profile statistics suggest that 51% of Echo readers are male, and 49% are female. The highest proportion of readers, 18%, are between the ages of 45 and 54.[8] Independent research carried out for the Echo in 2000 found readers spent an average of 33 minutes reading the paper. The same survey showed the Echo appealed to people across the range of demographics, with between 44 and 50% of people in each socio-economic grouping being regular readers.[15] Current industry figures show between 14.5% and 19% of each socio-economic grouping in the area being readers [8]
Circulation and supplements
Circulation and price[16] | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Price | Circulation |
1873 | 1 halfpenny | 1,000 |
1893 | 1 halfpenny | 21,967 |
1939 | 1 penny | 49,001 |
1953 | 3 halfpennies | 56,412 |
1976 | 6 pence | 65,145 |
1984 | 12 pence | 70,100 |
1990 | 18 pence | 68,525 |
2008 | 42 pence | 44,198 |
2012 | 55 pence | 29,366 |
2013 | 60 pence | 22,686 |
2014 | 70 pence | 18,876 |
The Sunderland Echo covers a circulation area of 40 square miles (100 km2) in North East England, which includes parts of South Tyneside and County Durham, as well as the city of Sunderland. Whitburn, Marsden and The Boldons, all to the north of Sunderland, are among the South Tyneside communities covered. Peterlee, Horden, Seaham, Dawdon, Murton and Seaton, to the south of Sunderland, are the main towns and villages in the East Durham circulation area. The paper is also sold in Washington, Burnmoor and Durham, which are to the west of Sunderland. Villages on the outskirts of the city, including Houghton-le-Spring, Penshaw, Fencehouses, Ryhope and Hetton-le-Hole are included in the circulation area too.[2][17] The main newspaper rivals in the Sunderland and County Durham area include The Northern Echo, The Journal, the Hartlepool Mail and the Evening Chronicle. The Sunderland Star, a free weekly newspaper printed by the Echo, is also distributed in the city.[18][19] According to independent research conducted on behalf of the Echo in 2000, the "popularity of the Echo in Sunderland and East Durham is greater than that of all other regional newspapers put together".[15]
In addition to the main newspaper, the Echo also produces a number of regular supplements and articles of specialist interest each week. These include sport and business supplements each Monday, a Down Your Way local news supplement on Tuesdays, jobs, junior football and nostalgia features on Wednesdays, an entertainment supplement, cars guide and nostalgia stories on Thursdays and a property pull-out on Fridays. The Saturday edition includes a leisure pull-out, featuring fashion, entertainment and restaurant reviews, while a local history nostalgia supplement, Retro, is published once a month.[14][20] Nostalgia calendars, featuring old photographs of Sunderland and Seaham, are also produced.[21]
Early years
Foundation
The first edition of the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette was printed on 22 December 1873, on a flat-bed press in Press Lane, Sunderland.[4][22] Five hundred copies of the four-page issue were produced at noon and 4 pm, and sold for a halfpenny each.[3][23]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Sunderland_Echo_delivery_van.jpg/220px-Sunderland_Echo_delivery_van.jpg)
Samuel Storey, a former teacher and future Sunderland mayor and Member of Parliament, founded the paper to provide a platform for his political views and to fill a gap in the newspaper market.[4][5] Although the 100,000-strong population of Sunderland was already served by two weekly newspapers—The Sunderland Times and The Sunderland Herald—neither reflected the radical views held by Storey and his partners and there were no daily papers in the town.[13] Storey promised readers in the first edition that, if things went wrong, "the Echo would try its best to put them right". But he added: "Always with moderation and without esteeming all those who oppose us as fools and knaves."[24] Early copies of the Echo included lengthy reports of Liberal meetings, and critical articles on Liberal opponents.[3][4][5]
The Sunderland Echo was launched with an initial investment of £3,500, raised by donations of £500 each from Storey and his business partners.[5][25] Those joining the venture were Quaker banker Edward Backhouse, shipbroker and MP Edward Temperley Gourley, shipbuilder and MP Sir Charles Palmer, newspaper editor Richard Ruddock, rope-maker Thomas Glaholm and draper Thomas Scott Turnbull.[3] Lack of experience—only Ruddock had previous knowledge of newspaper management—and over-optimistic estimates of costs meant that the initial funds were quickly exhausted.[5][13][22] Storey later admitted: "In our childlike, simple ways, we thought this might be sufficient, but in a few months all the money was gone, so we paid in another £3,500 and that soon went too."[22] As the prospect of any great financial success receded, Ruddock, Gourley and Palmer withdrew from the project. Storey, however, remained dedicated to the idea, and took on their shares.[3][26] A further £7,000 in investment from Storey enabled the remaining partners to abandon the "wheezing flat-bed press"[22] and, in July 1876, the Echo moved to new premises at 14 Bridge Street, Sunderland.[3]
Bridge Street
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Sunderland_Echo_003.jpg/220px-Sunderland_Echo_003.jpg)
Bridge Street remained the home of the Echo for the next 100 years.[27] Old buildings were demolished, new machine and composing rooms built on West Wear Street and two rotary presses installed just before the move, each capable of printing 24,000 copies an hour.[13] These changes brought about increased circulation, but it took another seven years before the Echo made a profit.[22] It was a time of intense competition; the Sunderland Times converted from a bi-weekly to a daily paper in the same month as the Echo moved to Bridge Street, and Tory supporters started a paper of their own, the Sunderland Daily Post.[4] The Sunderland Times was the first to collapse, but the Post survived for the next quarter of a century, providing the Echo with an often bitter rival.[4][5][22]
Following the deaths of two further partners, Backhouse in 1879 and Turnbull in 1880, Storey bought their shares to become the Echo's chief proprietor.[22] A year later, in 1881, he met Scottish-born millionaire Andrew Carnegie, and formed a syndicate with him to set up new newspapers and buy up others. Among those purchased were the Wolverhampton Express and Star, the Northern Daily Mail in Hartlepool and the Portsmouth Evening News. An attempt to buy the Shields Gazette, the country's oldest daily newspaper, failed.[6] The syndicate finally broke up in 1885, with Storey retaining control of the Echo, Hampshire Telegraph, Portsmouth News and the Northern Daily Mail. These papers formed the basis of a new company, Portsmouth and Sunderland Newspapers Ltd, formed in the 1930s.[13] The 19th century ended with the rivalry between the Echo and the Sunderland Daily Post intensifying. The Silksworth Colliery strike of 1891 pitted the two papers against each other, with the Post attacking Storey for having exploited the strike for political gain. Storey successfully sued for libel.[4][5][22]
20th century
Consolidation
The new century saw the Echo falling behind the times in its production methods. Established as a "leading daily newspaper",[3] it was one of the last to still be setting type by hand in 1900.[22] This changed in 1902, when Linotype lead-setting machines were brought in to set type mechanically.[6] A landslide victory for the Liberal Party followed at the 1906 General Election, which heralded a new era for the Echo. The paper's old rival, the Sunderland Daily Post, was discontinued six months later, and the Football Echo was launched on 7 September 1907.[4][28][29]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Sunderland_Echo_001.jpg/220px-Sunderland_Echo_001.jpg)
World War I brought its own difficulties for the Echo. Reporters went off to battle and, after the cost of newsprint soared, the paper was forced to double in price to a penny.[22] The Echo's 50th anniversary in 1923 was marked by a visit from company chairman Samuel Storey. Storey died two years later, three months after his eldest son Fred, and the chairmanship passed to another Samuel—Fred's elder son. In the same year, plans were laid to improve the Bridge Street premises. The work included enlarging the printing works and was completed by the end of the 1920s.[6]
Depression years
The depression of the 1930s brought mass unemployment to Sunderland. But, for the Echo, it was also a time of important structural changes in ownership. A new company controlling the three titles owned by the Storey family was formed in 1934—Portsmouth and Sunderland Newspapers Ltd.[6] There was a change in name for the Echo too, when the word Daily was dropped from its title of Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette.[6] The decade also, however, brought a fire which destroyed most of the bound files of archive copies of the Echo. Nineteenth-century editions of the Echo can only be accessed in Sunderland at the City Centre Library in Fawcett Street.[14]
Second World War
The Second World War brought havoc to Wearside, with Sunderland one of the seven most heavily bombed towns in the country.[30] Despite the heavy shelling of the North East coast and River Wear, the Echo offices and printing plant escaped undamaged. The Shields Gazette, the Echo's nearest rival, was not as fortunate. Its premises in Chapter Row, South Shields, were bombed in September 1941 and, under an emergency wartime arrangement, the paper was printed on the Echo presses.[31][32] The Echo continued to be published throughout the war, despite paper rationing, a lack of reporters and a strict censorship of photographs.[33] The war did have one major impact on the Echo—in the form of its size. Wartime restrictions on newsprint reduced the former broadsheet to its present tabloid size, and this style has been retained ever since.[6][31]
Post-war changes and centenary
The post-war years saw the Echo drop Shipping Gazette from its main title-piece, following a redesign in 1959. Instead, the paper became known as Echo Sunderland for several years, although the name Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette continued to be printed in much smaller type above the new title. A further title-piece redesign in 1972, however, dispensed with the words Shipping Gazette and introduced an illustration of Wearmouth Bridge alongside the title Echo Sunderland.
Following a major refurbishment of the Bridge Street base in the mid-1960s,[27] the next milestones for the paper came in 1973. The first was Sunderland A.F.C.'s 1–0 win over Leeds United in the FA Cup Final. Ian Porterfield's winning goal was headline news at the time, giving the Echo its all-time record circulation figure of 95,000 copies of the Sports Echo.[6][34] The second important event of 1973 was the 100th anniversary of the paper. Celebrations included a birthday party, with dignitaries such as Sunderland A.F.C. manager Bob Stokoe among the guests. Lord Buckton, the chairman of Portsmouth and Sunderland Newspapers Ltd, announced his retirement at the event, and was succeeded by his son, The Honourable Richard Storey. News of a move from Bridge Street to Pennywell, Sunderland, was also announced during the anniversary celebrations.[6] The old newspaper building has since been replaced by a modern apartment block. The Echo name still lives on, however, as the project as been named Echo24.[35]
Modern era
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Sunderland_Echo_press_2004.jpg/170px-Sunderland_Echo_press_2004.jpg)
Decades of change
The Echo moved from Bridge Street to a purpose-built newspaper office at Echo House, Pennywell Industrial Estate, in 1976. The move brought an end to the traditional methods of printing using hot molten metal to produce type and printing plates, and introduced computer technology.[4] The £4 million development saw the Echo become the first daily newspaper in the North East to be completely produced by photo-composition and web-offset printing. It also saw a change in the Echo's appearance, with a new shape, bolder typefaces and clearer printing. The first new-look Echo was printed at Pennywell on 26 April 1976 and was issue number 32,512.[6]
Another change inspired by the move was a return for the Football Echo man. The cartoon character had for years indicated the match results of Sunderland with a smile, a frown or a tear, while adorning the outside wall of the Bridge Street building. After several years in storage, he was returned to the wall of the new Echo building in 1976, where he still remains today.[36]
In 1985 there was a break in tradition when the Echo title-piece appeared reversed out in white on a red background, instead of the more familiar red or black lettering. The new title-piece was designed to give a greater impact to the colourful front page.[6] It was the first in a series of changes which included dropping Sunderland from the title in 1990, the paper simply becoming The Echo. This change was reversed in 1997, with a return to the name Sunderland Echo.[6][37]
Technological changes
The 1990s saw the Echo take a huge technological leap forward when a £12 million printing press was installed. It was used for the first time in December 1996 and was capable of printing up to 70,000 newspapers an hour. The press was part of a multimillion-pound revamp, which also saw journalists making up full news pages on computer screens for the first time. The Echo's first internet news service was also launched in 1996.[6] A further £5 million was spent on updating the pre-press and press hall area in 2004, to improve printing quality and speed of production.[38]
The Echo was still part of Portsmouth and Sunderland Newspapers until the end of the 1990s, although printed by Northeast Press, a subsidiary of the main company. However, the last link to the original founder, Samuel Storey, disappeared in 1999, when Johnston Press took over the business in May that year. The Sunderland Echo is still published by Northeast Press, although Johnston Press—the nation's second largest regional publisher—now owns the whole company.[39] In September 2012 it was announced the multimillion-pound press hall was to close, with the loss of 81 jobs, and printing operations moved to Sheffield.[40] On Saturday, 3 November, the final Echo was printed in Sunderland.[41] The Echo was based at Echo House, Pennywell Industrial Estate, Sunderland, from 1976 until April 2015. It now shares a site with sister papers the Hartlepool Mail and Shields Gazette at Alexander House, 1 Mandarin Road, Rainton Bridge Business Park, Houghton-le-Spring.[12]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Sunderland_Echo_digital_journalists.jpg/220px-Sunderland_Echo_digital_journalists.jpg)
On-line revolution
The Echo's new-look website was launched in February 2007, while a digital editing suite was created within the office at the same time.[17] The audio-visual equipment allows reporters to both write about and film stories as they happen, and the articles can be published on-line within seconds.[10][42]
Statistics show that almost 80,000 people visited the Echo's website in January 2007, and this figure rose to 216,000 by January 2008.[9]. The website is updated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with stories including football match reports and football transfer rumours among the most popular. Slideshows, videos and podcasts are also included on the site in addition to the news of the day.[10]
Awards and recognition
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Echo_office_Beamish.jpg/170px-Echo_office_Beamish.jpg)
The Echo has won numerous accolades, as well as government praise, for its campaigning journalism, specialist writing, community work, photographic images and appeals for good causes over the decades.[43][44] Examples of notable writing include a 2006 campaign highlighting the threat posed by bogus callers to the elderly and a 2005 campaign to protect 999 crews from being attacked on duty, which both received official praise in Parliament.[45][46] A 1996 drug education campaign, which included the creation of a telephone service for tip-offs about suspected local drug dealers, was also highly praised. The Newspaper Society named the Echo as its Campaigning Newspaper of the Year for the Drug Busters drive, and the campaign also won an award from the International Newspaper Marketing Association.[47]
In the 135 years of its existence, the Echo has become part of the culture of the North East of England and a replica branch office of the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette was built at the open air Beamish Museum in County Durham in 1991.[48] Designed to show visitors how the newspaper would have operated in around 1913, the life-size exhibit includes a distribution office, reporter's office, stationery shop and fully working printing press.[49] The replica office took museum staff several months to research and create, and was opened by Sir Richard Storey, great-grandson of Echo founder Samuel Storey, on 10 May 1991.[48]
A racehorse was named after the paper in 1991, which was owned by a consortium of 250 Echo readers. The gelding won races at Hamilton, Redcar, Newcastle upon Tyne and Haydock in the early 1990s, but had to be put down on 17 February 1996 after pulling up badly lame during a routine morning gallop.[50] The Echo was also used in a display at the Science Museum in London in 1999, to show how writing can be made simpler for people with reading difficulties, and a specially printed edition of the newspaper appeared on the TV show Touching Evil, starring Robson Green, in the same year.[51][52]
Awards won by the Sunderland Echo | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Award | Person(s) | Work | |
2008 Northeast Press Awards[43] | Trainee of the Year (Daily paper) | Ross Robertson | Best general news reporting portfolio from a trainee | |
2008 Northeast Press Awards[43] | Best Columnist | Richard Ord | The Richard Ord Column | |
2008 Northeast Press Awards[43] | Best Feature Writer (Daily paper) | Linda Colling | Women's features and weekly columnist | |
2008 Northeast Press Awards[43] | Best Online Contribution | Lee Hall | Sunderland Echo website | |
2008 Northeast Press Awards[43] | Best portfolio of pictures/Best Picture | Tony Colling | Best general news photography portfolio | |
The 2005/06 Tom Cordner North East Press Awards[53] | Tom Cordner Quill: Trainee journalist of the Year | Bethany Usher | Best general news reporting portfolio from a trainee | |
The 2005/06 Tom Cordner North East Press Awards[53] | North East Health Prize | Linda Colling | Best portfolio of health stories | |
The 2005/06 Tom Cordner North East Press Awards[53] | The Steve Jones Prize For reporting that contributes most to the community | Rob Lawson – Editor | Best community stories reporting portfolio | |
The 2004/05 Tom Cordner North East Press Awards[54] | Consumer Affairs Prize | Andrea Thurlbeck | Best general consumer reporting portfolio | |
The 2004/05 Tom Cordner North East Press Awards[54] | The Steve Jones Prize For reporting that contributes most to the community | John Howe | Best community stories reporting portfolio | |
The 2004/05 Tom Cordner North East Press Awards[54] | ABC Spike for overall newspaper page design | Les Oliver | Best design sub-editing portfolio | |
The 2004/05 Tom Cordner North East Press Awards[54] | Eric Dobson Scroll | Bethany Usher | North East trainee with highest marks in the NCTJ examination |
References
- ^ a b "Sunderland Echo and Football Echo Circulation Certificate July to December 2015" (pdf). Audit Bureau of Circulations. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Media and marketing information" (PDF). North East Press. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h How the Echo came to be. Sunderland Daily Echo. 3 April 1902. p. 3.
{{cite book}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i Sarah Stoner (14 September 2005). "Behind the Scenes". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b c d e f g Stuart Miller (1990). Sunderland: River, Town and People. Borough of Sunderland Council. pp. 126, 128, 132, 133, 134, 135, 138, 146. ISBN 978-0-947637-06-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m The Echo through the ages. Sunderland Echo. 28 November 1998. p. 4.
{{cite book}}
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(help) - ^ Andrew Murray-Watson (2 September 2007). "Johnston joins the digital revolution". The Independent. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ a b c d "ABC figures" (PDF). ABC circulation figures. 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ a b holdthefrontpage staff (20 March 2008). "Record traffic for Sunderland Echo website". Hold the Front Page website. Archived from the original on 24 March 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Cara Houchen (22 February 2008). "Echo digital". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
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(help) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b http://www.sunderlandecho.com/history-nostalgia/sunderland-echo-moves-to-new-21st-century-home-in-wearside-1-7213385
- ^ a b c d e "The Sunderland Echo". Wearside online website. 2007. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Katy Wheeler (9 May 2008). "For the news that matters to you". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
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(help) - ^ a b Simply the best!. Sunderland Echo. 21 November 2000. p. 3.
{{cite book}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Footnote: These figures are a combination of ABC figures and details taken from old editions of the Sunderland Echo.
- ^ a b "Home page for the Sunderland Echo". Sunderland Echo. 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Newspaper Report for the publication: Sunderland Star". The Newspaper Society. 2007. Archived from the original on 14 July 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2007.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "World-Newspapers Europe UK North East". World Newspapers website. 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ "Retro". Sunderland Echo. 2008. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Sarah Stoner (27 September 2007). "Your favourite photos". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 6 March 2007.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j Echo founding fathers. Sunderland Daily Echo. 22 December 1923. p. 7.
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: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Footnote reference: This version of halfpenny refers to the older currency, not the post-1971 decimal half-penny piece. According to the website Measuringworth.com, a halfpenny in 1873 had a current purchasing power of 14.5 pence
- ^ Our promise. Sunderland Daily Echo. 22 December 1873. p. 2.
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(help) - ^ Footnote reference: According to the website Measuringworth.com, £3,500 in 1873 had a purchasing power equivalent to about £242,240.36 today.
- ^ "Share history" (PDF). Competition Commission. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b Rob Ford (16 June 2005). "Fond memories of the old Echo office". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
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(help) - ^ Echo Sport Team (25 September 2007). "100 years of the Football Echo". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
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: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Patrick Astill (25 September 2007). "Echo sports extra celebrates centenary". Hold The Front Page website. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Carol Roberton (13 May 2005). "Hitler: his part in our town fall". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
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: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b 70 Years Old Today. Sunderland Echo. 22 December 1943. p. 2.
{{cite book}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Brian Pears (2005). "Incidents 11 September 1941 to 1 October 1941". North-East Diary 1939–1945 website. Archived from the original on 13 August 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
The Shields Gazette Offices and Printing Works received a direct hit by heavy calibre bombs, the whole printing department and part of the offices were wrecked.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Carol Roberton (26 February 2007). "Can you help us tell Wearside's wartime tale". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
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(help) - ^ "1973 Cup Final". Sunderland Echo. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "End of an Era as Demolition Begins at Echo Building". Echo24 website. 16 August 2006. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Echoman". Sunderland Echo. 6 August 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Echo Sunderland Title gets Update. Sunderland Echo. 9 August 1985. p. 7.
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(help) - ^ Josh Brooks (3 September 2004). "Sunderland Echo invests £5 m". Print Week website. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ "Northeast Press history". Shields Gazette. 2007. Archived from the original on 14 May 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Printing Press Set To Close". Sunderland Echo. 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
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(help) - ^ "Presses roll for final time". Sunderland Echo. 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Martin Wainwright (3 March 2008). "Local Heroes". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b c d e f holdthefrontpage staff (10 April 2008). "Mail and Echo sweep the board at new press awards". Hold The Front Page website. Archived from the original on 13 April 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ holdthefrontpage staff (18 May 2004). "Gazette scoops six in North East Press Awards". Hold The Front Page website. Archived from the original on 17 February 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ holdthefrontpage staff (8 November 2006). "Echo wins praise in Parliament". Hold The Front Page website. Archived from the original on 26 January 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Sunderland Echo staff (2005). "Praise in Commons for Echo campaign". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
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: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ We've Cracked It!. Sunderland Echo. 19 April 1996. p. 3.
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: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b Echoes of the past for north museum. Sunderland Echo. May 1991. p. 7.
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: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ All our yesterdays. Sunderland Echo. 10 May 1999. p. 6.
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(help) - ^ Echo horse put down after tragic injury. Sunderland Echo. 17 February 1996. p. 27.
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: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Your Echo's a star!. Sunderland Echo. 23 January 1999. p. 17.
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(help) - ^ Echo goes to Science Museum to help people to read again. Sunderland Echo. 23 March 1999. p. 8.
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(help) - ^ a b c "The 2005 Tom Cordner North East Press Awards – full list". North East Press Awards. 2006. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d "Cordner Awards – 2004 Winners". North East Press Awards. 2005. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
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Further reading
- Bean, William Wardell: Parliamentary Representation of the Six Northern Counties Hull Publishing, 1890 (held in the Robinson Library, University of Newcastle)
- The Durham Thirteen: Biographical sketches of the members of parliament returned for the City, Boroughs, and County of Durham, at the general election of 1874 Published by J Hyslop Bell, Darlington, 1874
- Book and News Trade Gazette Published 6 October 1894
- The Alderman (magazine) Published 8 April 1876
- Wearside Review: Local notabilities Published by the Sunderland Daily Echo, 1886
External links
- the Sunderland Echo website
- Wearsideonline: A brief history of the Echo
- Hold The Front Page: Echo awards and stories about the paper.