Front page and page three of 1 October edition of Tameside Reporter. Picture: Press Gazette screenshot
Local independent newsbrand Tameside Reporter is closing its print edition after 171 years of publication.
The local paper is looking to redistribute its existing staff to sister titles Glossop Chronicle, Oldham Reporter and Tameside Radio to produce online news, sport and entertainment content, as digital, video and audio are given higher priority.
Press Gazette understands redundancies were made earlier this year at Tameside Reporter by owner Not Really Here, but further redundancies are not planned with the “pause” of Tameside Reporter.
The weekly print paper was priced at £1 and was the only local print newspaper in Tameside, Greater Manchester. Investigative journalist Harold Evans started his career at the Ashton-under-Lyne Reporter in 1944, which later became the Tameside Reporter.
In his autobiography, Evans said the title had 14 editions when he joined and 80,000 weekly readers.
‘Unsustainable in its current format’
A decline of local advertising and rising print and operating costs have been cited as the driving cause of the paper’s decision to cease print.
Tameside Reporter shared a statement with Press Gazette: “We announced on the Tameside Reporter Facebook page that the newspaper will cease printing after its final edition tomorrow. This has been an extremely difficult decision. The Reporter has served the people of Tameside for 171 years, and we know how much it means to its readers, the advertisers and the communities it represented.
“Rising print and operating costs, together with continued pressure on print advertising revenue, have made the Reporter unsustainable in its current format. Ceasing print publication will allow us to focus our resources on sustaining and developing the group’s remaining brands.
“We will continue to deliver news, sport and entertainment across Tameside through Tameside Radio 103.6FM and our digital platforms. The Tameside Reporter brand will pause for the time being. We are thankful to everyone who has supported the Reporter throughout years.”
The paper was previously owned by Quest Media, which also operated the Glossop Chronicle, Oldham Reporter and Tameside Radio. Quest Media went into liquidation in 2024, with debts of around £1.6m owed to creditors according to Companies House filings . The business was then bought for around £20,000 by Chris Bird and Emma Marsh through Not Really Here Group, according to Mill Media , with Tameside Reporter and its sister titles continuing under the new ownership.
Bird and Marsh were previously co-directors of Quest Media. Bird resigned from the Not Really Here Group in 2024, but remains an adviser to the business.
Bird and Marsh say they have together invested more than £700,000 over seven years in the Not Really Here business.
Other titles within Not Really Here Group will continue operating and are not impacted by the “pausing” of Tameside Reporter . The titles all publish content on Not Really Here Group’s website, which Similarweb estimates to have had 8,700 visits in August.
Business to ‘develop sports coverage’
Bird told Press Gazette: “The end of the Reporter production doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the group’s commitment to Tameside. Local news will continue across the radio station, and the business’s digital and social platforms. The business will further develop its sports coverage. Tameside, Glossop and High Peak have incredible sports clubs across football, rugby, cricket, and other sports.
“The Glossop Chronicle continues, it is thriving, and the business is taking that further out into the High Peak.
“The business will continue to develop its photography, podcasts, video, audio and digital production services. These will become more important to the business.
“People haven’t stopped caring about local stories… But the way they consume that content has changed. The business felt it was responsible to reposition how it operates, for the benefit of staff and the future of the business, while continuing to serve its communities.
“The aim is to create more opportunities for young people to consider a career in media by offering experience, training and opportunities across the business’s platforms and services.
“Local businesses right now on the high street are under huge pressure because of tax, National Insurance and business rates. They need to find ways of saving money, and local advertisers cannot be expected to advertise everywhere. Tameside has taken a real hit. A walk around the high streets in its nine towns shows that retailers and other hardworking businesses are having a tough time. The impact is clear.”
“The business remains confident in local media, but changes are needed. The economy is struggling, and smaller media outlets often feel the pressure first.”
Bird added that the business has invested in the community outside of Not Really Here with the launch of business awards programme Biz Network and a local annual festival for runners.
The closure of the long-running print paper follows similar outcomes for other newsbrands: last year, local newspaper the South London Press closed down after 160 years in print, B2B travel trade magazine title TTG closed its print title after 72 years , and Nursing Times ended its 120-year print run to focus on digital growth. In 2024, Press Gazette found that 293 local newspapers in the UK had closed since 2005 .
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