Western Gazette

Regional newspaper published in England

1863 as Western Gazette
1743 as Western Flying Post
1737 as Sherborne Mercury

LanguageEnglishHeadquartersThe Innovation Centre, Barracks Close, Copse Road, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 8RNCirculation3,518 (as of 2022)^[2]Websitewww.somersetlive.co.uk

The Western Gazette is a regional newspaper, published every Thursday in Yeovil, Somerset, England. The newspaper and digital operation is based at the Yeovil Innovation Centre.

History

The Western Gazette was founded in 1863 in Yeovil.^[1] The first issue was published on 21 February, with a price of one penny.^[3] In 1867, it merged with the Western Flying Post, which had been founded in Yeovil in 1743; the Western Flying Post had merged in 1749 with the Sherborne Mercury, which was first published in 1737.^[1]^[a]

In 2012, Local World acquired owners Northcliffe Media from Daily Mail and General Trust.^[7] Trinity Mirror took control of Local World in late 2015 as part of a £220m deal.^[8]

In June 2016, the newspaper launched Somerset Live, a digital platform dedicated to providing news coverage, feature/human interest stories, entertainment and live blogs to readers across the South West of England and surrounding areas.^[9] The website received an overhaul and a redesign in May 2017 to deliver a more user friendly experience, with improved features and interaction.^[10]

Notes

^ The initial publication of the Sherborne Mercury was in February 173+6⁄7,^[4] which fell between New Year's Day (January 1) and the start of the British civil year (March 25)—see discussion at Old Style and New Style dates#Start of year adjustment. The Western Gazette began noting the founding year of the Sherborne Mercury as 1737 rather than 1736 at some point during 1986–1987.^[5]^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "The Western Gazette: Newspaper History". Western Gazette. Yeovil. 18 December 1936. p. 16. Retrieved 23 October 2023 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Western Gazette". Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK). 6 February 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
^ "(masthead)". Western Gazette. 21 February 1863. p. 1. Retrieved 23 October 2023 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Newspapers of Somerset". Somerset County Herald and Taunton Courier. Taunton, Somerset, England. 28 January 1961. p. 2. Retrieved 24 October 2023 – via newspapers.cpm.
^ "Letters to the Editor". Western Gazette. 6 June 1986. p. 20. Retrieved 24 October 2023 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Letters to the Editor". Western Gazette. 4 July 1987. p. 22. Retrieved 24 October 2023 – via newspapers.com.
^ Daily Mail sells regional newspapers to Local World BBC News, 21 November 2012
^ "Trinity Mirror confirms £220m Local World deal". TheGuardian.com. 28 October 2015.
^ "Gloucestershire and Somerest Live sites launched - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage".
^ "Somerset Live has a new look ‒ here's what we've done". 9 May 2017.