Challenging times for the media industry were seen to take their toll on neighbouring newspapers this month with the closure of the Roscommon Champion which has been operating for more than 80 years.
Staff at the paper were given little warning of the impending closure prior to its sudden shut-down last week and were only made aware of their fate at a meeting which had innocuously been called to discuss ‘organisational arrangements’ in the company.
The Roscommon Champion was just one of three newspapers closed down by the Northern Ireland publisher Alpha Newspaper Group, which has also closed the Longford News (50 years old ) and the Athlone Voice (10 years old ). A total of 30 jobs were lost in the closures. A slump in advertising revenue is being blamed for the closures. In recent years Alpha Newspaper Group, which is owned by Northern Ireland former Unionist MP John Taylor (Lord Kilclooney ), expressed an interest in acquiring the Mayo News from the Berry family in Westport.
The three weekly titles to go were circulated to counties Westmeath, Roscommon, and Longford. Sister titles the Tullamore Tribune and Midland Tribune are unaffected. Alpha Newspapers has meanwhile acquired the Newry Democrat, a weekly newspaper for the border town of Newry, from Thomas Crosbie Holdings (TCH ). The changeover is subject to approval by the Competition Authority.
The closure of the Roscommon Champion has been lamented by local people and politicians in the area who have criticised the lack of warning given and the forced and immediate ending of such an historic presence in the county. While rumours circulated regarding a possible management buy-out of the title, the closed down titles are not believed to be available as a going concern.
The National Union of Journalists has meanwhile strongly criticised the refusal of Alpha Newspapers Group to meet with union officials from the newspapers.
The group did arrange to hold meetings with staff on an individual basis last week to discuss terms, but the union is seeking to negotiate alternatives to closure.
Mayo councillor Harry Barrett has also spoken out on the issue stating that the closure of the newspapers represents the loss of valuable sources of information.
“I would hate to see any such developments happen in this county and ask that every support be given to our newspapers to help them survive the recession,” he said.
