Dawn of new era for newspapers in the borough
Tuesday April 5, 2011
The final edition of H&F News is set to be published today (April 5) after an agreement was approved with Trinity Mirror Southern to publish future council advertising.
The agreement will see public notices and other display advertisements published in the Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle every week.
As part of the agreement, extra pagination will also be provided by the paper to ensure that the council continues to promote consultations, events and other public information.
Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council Leader, said: “We have been incredibly proud to have published H&F News but this agreement is a positive step forward for the borough's residents as we have secured an effective way of communicating our news, while delivering real value for money. As a result we will continue to have one of the lowest communication costs of any London borough.
“Additionally, this illustrates our commitment to supporting a vibrant independently produced newspaper in the borough.”
The agreement follows the implementation of the Government’s new Publicity Code which is designed to restrict the frequency of council publications.
H&F Council negotiated the best possible value for future advertising, while securing extra space to help inform residents about key issues, such as live consultations, events and other council information that might not ordinarily be covered by the Chronicle.
Simon Edgley, Managing Director of Trinity Mirror Southern, said: “We are not only absolutely delighted to sign this agreement, but also that our titles and websites will play such a significant part in ensuring that residents of Hammersmith & Fulham remain appropriately informed.”
H&F News was first published as a monthly paper in 2006 and went fortnightly in 2008. However changes to the Government rules about council publications means that, after nearly 100 editions, the current H&F News will be the last.
The initial six-year advertising contract comes after a European-wide tender which attracted one bid.
