The editor of the Liverpool Post, Mark Thomas, has reflected on why the newspaper had to close after 158 years of publication.
Writing his final article for the Trinity Mirror owned paper, Thomas said that for the younger generation of “digital natives” growing up today, the tablet and the smartphone have “almost entirely supplanted” the newspaper.
“Much of the local advertising upon which regional newspapers traditionally relied has also migrated online,” he writes. “That and the arrival of the world economic downturn of recent years has added up to a perfect storm for the newspaper industry.
“Turning the Liverpool Post from a daily to the current weekly title in early 2012 was a move which helped to sustain the title for a while longer, but the sad reality is that we had reached a point where our advertising and circulation revenue were no longer enough for the newspaper to remain viable.”
The Liverpool Post’s circulation figures have declined sharply over the last decade, according to ABC figures. In 2004 the paper was selling over 20,000 copies, but last year, despite relaunching as a 100-page weekly paper with a cover price of £1, that had dropped to around 8,600.
“It seems hard to believe that this is the last article I will ever write for the Liverpool Post,” Thomas said.
“But the encouraging news is that our dedicated team of journalists will continue to cover the city region, as part of an expanded team bringing extended coverage to the Liverpool Echo.
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