Shropshire Star
 | |
| Type | Daily regional newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Midland News Association |
| Editor | Martin Wright |
| Founded | 5 October 1964 |
| Political alignment | Conservative |
| Headquarters | Head office: Midland News Association, 51-53 Queen Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1ES |
| Circulation | 9,914 (as of 2023)[1] |
| Sister newspapers | Express & Star |
| Website | shropshirestar.com |
The Shropshire Star is reputedly the twelfth biggest-selling regional newspaper in the UK.[2] It is based at Grosvenor House, Telford where it covers the whole of Shropshire plus parts of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Mid Wales. It is printed by Newsquest at their Deeside office.
Currently edited by Martin Wright,[3] the Shropshire Star publishes one edition on Monday through Saturday. In the first half of 2012, the newspaper had a daily circulation of 49,751.[4] Ten years later paid print circulation had fallen by 80% to less than 10,000 (ABC Jan-Jun 2023). In 2023, in an attempt to reverse its declining fortunes the newspaper began the process to monetize its online views by placing the majority of its news contect behind a paywall.
The Shropshire Star has been under the continuous ownership of the Graham family since its inception. The Shropshire Star is published by the Midland News Association (MNA), which also owns the Express & Star newspaper.
History
The Shropshire Star has been in circulation since Monday 5 October 1964,[5] inheriting a nightly circulation of around 19,000 from the old Shropshire edition of the Express & Star.[6]
The Midland News Association board saw an opportunity with the growth of Dawley New Town - later renamed Telford - and produced a successful news and advertising product to serve a county which is a mixture of agriculture and industrial areas.
It was the first British newspaper to bring readers colour pictures of the moon landing. In 1980 the Shropshire Star became the first newspaper in Britain to introduce an editorial computer system as part of an investment in their former site at Ketley.
The Shropshire Star later became the first evening newspaper in Europe to use web-fed offset printing, which refers to the use of rolls (or webs) of paper supplied to the printing press.[6][7]
In September 2023, the paper was sold by the family-owned Claverley Group to National World.[8]
Online media
The Shropshire Star publishes breaking news and sport content online each day, in addition to regular blogs and unique video content. Its website, shropshirestar.com,[9] was launched in 1997.
A Shropshire Star App for iPad and iPhone was launched in January 2012, using page-turning technology to mimic the look and feel of the actual newspaper.
August 2012 saw the website re-launched in a responsive web design alongside its sister title expressandstar.com[10] – believed to be the first of any other regional newspaper websites in the UK.[11]
By 2015, the term Shropshire Star was being inputted into search engines more than 200,000 times per calendar month, which made it the most popular search string with the word Shropshire in the request.[12]
Editors
 |
- Keith Parker (1972–1977)[13]
- Robert Jones (1977–1991)
- Warren Wilson (1992–1994)
- Andy Wright (1994–1998)
- Adrian Faber (1998–2001)
- Sarah-Jane Smith (2001–2011)[14]
- Keith Harrison (2011–2013)[15]
- Martin Wright (2013–present)
Notable journalists
- Jeremy Clarkson - wrote his first motoring articles for this paper. He recalled: "I started small, on the Shropshire Star with little Peugeots and Fiats and worked my way up to Ford Granadas and Rovers, until, after about seven years, I was allowed to drive an Aston Martin Lagonda."[16]
Editions
- Two different editions: East zone (covering Telford, Market Drayton, Newport, Bridgnorth) and west zone (covering Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Ludlow and into mid-Wales)
See also
References
- ^ "Shropshire Star". Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK). 21 August 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Regional ABCs 2020: Print dailies drop by average of 18%". Press Gazette. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "New editor appointed for Shropshire Star". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ "Regional ABCs: Paid-for local press circulation drops by 6.4 per cent". Press Gazette. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ "Leslie Stallard;Obituary". The Times. 29 December 1993. ProQuest 318045338.
- ^ a b Brimacombe, Nick (16 January 2014). "Shropshire Star kicks off anniversary celebrations with supplement". Hold the Front Page. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ "About Us - Shropshire Star". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
- ^ Madden, Sophie (29 September 2023). "Shropshire Star and Express and Star bought by publisher". BBC News. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Shropshire News - Midlands News - Breaking News UK « Shropshire Star". Shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ "Midlands News – West Midlands Local News - UK News « Express & Star". Expressandstar.com. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ "Why the Express and Star went 'mobile-first' and responsive". Journalism.co.uk. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ "'Shropshire Star' Searched 200,000 Times A Month In Google - Ascendancy Internet Marketing". Ascendancy Internet Marketing. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ "Keith Parker: 'Doughty fighter' and pioneer of the 'total newspaper' - Press Gazette". Press Gazette. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ Gunter, Joel (29 July 2011). "Shropshire Star editor quits after 10 years". journalism.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ Pugh, Andrew (7 March 2013). "The Press Awards: Live coverage from the Lancaster London Hotel - Press Gazette". Press Gazette. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (26 March 2015). "Jeremy Clarkson to his critics: go and create a rival to Top Gear". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2018. This recalls information given by him in his last column for Top Gear magazine prior to his dismissal by the BBC.