Bridlington Free Press editor updates members on paper’s progress and community role

Neil Watson (left) and Ed Asquith pictured at the meeting with a copy of the Bridlington Free Press.

THE editor of the Bridlington Free Press and numerous other Yorkshire Regional Newspaper titles gave an update to Bridlington Chamber on his newspaper’s progress and the role it plays in the local community.

Mr Asquith said online readership has surged in recent years and now stands at three times that of his printed newspapers, and revealed that the Bridlington Free Press is about to get a redesign.

“Under my guidance, the paper has become far more visual, but it still looks quite type heavy, so we think there is room to give it a more modern, lighter look.

“We are planning to run a series of features on the town and famous people connected to it,” he told the meeting, and was pleased to get at least four additional story ideas for his reporters to work on.

He said: “We always look for positive stories about our area and try to show it in a good light,” pointing out the coverage the recent announcement about the Premier Inn had been given following the news that the project had been given the go-ahead, despite some local objections over fears of competition and parking issues in the resort.

Mr Asquith said he believed that further big names were looking at Bridlington with a view to investing in the town in the near future.

The meeting heard that the Bridlington Free Press is in the top third of papers in the Johnston Press Group, and that one of its sister papers, the Beverley Guardian, had recently bucked the national trend of weekly papers going from paid for to free, and had actually gone the other way and is now a paid for title.

Mr Asquith said: “It’s a bit like the salmon swimming against the flow of the river. The new-look Beverley Guardian with twice the pagination, now 48 pages, was launched in September. We initially kept it as a free, but it has now moved to 40p”.

Following a discussion about the paper’s involvement with the Chamber Bridlington and Yorkshire Coast Business Awards, chair Neil Watson thanked Mr Asquith for his attendance and noted how he looked forward to the Chamber working with him in the future.

PICTURE CAPTION: Neil Watson (left) and Ed Asquith pictured at the meeting with a copy of the Bridlington Free Press.