And so, to North Berwick. A pretty seaside town of 8,300 souls with a chi-chi high street, upmarket eateries and drinkeries plus a links golf course that, to the untutored eye, looks just like its famous neighbour St Andrews, only 20 miles across the Firth of Forth.
Last year, this East Lothian town jutting out into the North Sea 25 miles from Edinburgh was named the ‘Best place to live in the UK’ by the Sunday Times and now it also boasts the best weekly newsbrand in Scotland.
The East Lothian Courier, masterminded from nearby Haddington, claimed the accolade at the 46th Scottish Press Awards* fighting off stiff competition from other weeklies around the country.
Editor Robbie Scott, who proudly asserts that he’s “been in charge for 20 years” was on hand in Glasgow to pick up the award and put that success down to some pretty fundamental practices.
“The East Lothian Courier is an unashamedly traditional local news brand,” he says. “Communities and technology may change, but the Courier’s insightful news coverage and championing of East Lothian remain steadfast.
And the numbers speak for themselves. “We sold an average of 6,059 print copies a week last year in our mainly rural patch of 100,000 people and, crucially, our year-on-year print decline was just over four per cent, the best in our group in Scotland,” says Scott.
Digitally, the title broke 11 million pageviews in 2024, 16 per cent up on the 2023 total, which itself was 32 per cent higher than in 2022. Furthermore, there are nearly 1,000 digital subscribers.
“Despite achieving the holy Newsquest trinity of robust print sales and continued strong growth in digital pageviews and subscriptions, no-one goes into journalism to get excited about spreadsheets,” says Scott.
“We continue to hold power to account and enjoy huge support from our readers.”
John McLellan, director of Newsbrands Scotland which oversee the awards is bullish about the sector. “Across Scotland, there are many strong weekly publications producing brilliant local journalism and bringing their readers breaking news every day on their digital platforms,” he said.
“Titles like the East Lothian Courier, Cumnock Chronicle, Northern Scot, Oban Times and The Orcadian are superb examples of a belief in the vital importance of good, grassroots coverage of the issues which really matter to their readers.
“The Shetland Times is another good example and is now up for sale; with a weekly circulation of over 3,000 copies, the title should have a viable future, and would be a great addition to any stable.”
Anatomy of a winner...
So, what makes the East Lothian Courier into newsbrand of the year?
We took a dive into a routine week — dateline May 22 — to see what brings the readers to the newsstand clutching their £1.50.
To start with, there are 48 pages — yes FORTY-EIGHT pages — more than most papers can boast even on a special week.
‘News’ goes all the way back to page 21 (plus a guest appearance on page 27), with pages dedicated to individual communities after some pretty full-on hard news. High Street parking charges, a 10-year-old fire rescue hero and MSPs quizzed on how they voted on assisted dying are complemented by butchers winning awards and a page-lead report on a music and beer festival.
A page of court reports has seven stories naming and shaming plus cleverly sourced pictures to break up the copy.
But it is the community-focused stories that underline what a great ‘local’ the Courier is. A paddleboard fundraiser, friends getting together to put on an art show, safer crossing points for horses and back on the aforementioned page 21, ‘the world’s oldest sporting trophy’ is contested by archers.
A page of letters is a must-read, especially the one headlined ‘Moral compass’, complemented by the facing page of ‘Viewpoints’, mainly political columnists.
Eight pages of puzzles is on top of the 48 run of paper, so let’s make that 56 in total, and four pages of captivating ‘Down memory Lane’ sepia-toned pictures precede another two pages ‘Harking Back’.
Family Announcements, followed by four more pages of classified, including the battleground that has become public notices.
Seven pages of sport are comprehensive and detailed and this being the cusp of May, features football AND cricket as well as bowls AND rugby.
There’s an ongoing cultural media theory debate of whether journalism is a ‘mirror’ or a ‘window’ on society. I don’t think the good folk of East Lothian will be concerning themselves too much with that but I can confirm that both the mirror and the window are very highly polished...
*Alan Geere was one of 35 industry professionals on the judging panel for the Scottish Press Awards.
‘Plenty of life in print yet’ at the Cumnock Chronicle
Nearly 100 miles west of North Berwick — and a world away from the lifestyle property pages — lie some east Ayrshire former mining communities that have faced tough times. But through it all, have had an unswerving champion — the Cumnock Chronicle.
The 125-year-old title was runner-up in the Weekly Newsbrand of the Year category giving Editor Gillian Murphy validation for their community-centred approach.
“Community is at the very heart of everything we do at The Cumnock Chronicle,” says Murphy. “It is a small newsbrand but it punches well above its weight. Families in East Ayrshire are among those worst hit by poverty in Scotland. It is increasingly difficult for people to pay for news amid the cost-of-living crisis, so when they do, we want to ensure we give the audience what they want and we focus on quality.”
“Working with a medium like print can be challenging because it has been talked down for so long across the industry and society and that can feel like you’re swimming against a tide. That’s tough on morale. But there’s plenty of life in print yet and I think some of the dialogue around it has changed over the last year. Publishers, including Newsquest, really value it and prioritise it.
“The rise in citizen journalism via social media has brought about challenges with how we work and how we as the established media are viewed by the public. But there’s certainly life — and value — in story-telling and trusted news content. We have to be flexible and constantly evolving, but that’s part of how we stay relevant.
“While print remains strong but on an overall downward trajectory, we have seen huge growth in our digital audience. In fact, more people are consuming our content across these multiple platforms than ever before. That is exciting. That is motivating and that is why new graduates still want to become journalists too.”
Also finalists in the weekly newsbrand category were The Orcadian, The Inverness Courier and the Dunfermline Press, another title that Robbie Scott looks after.
But what is it that keeps Murphy focused on Cumnock plus the other daily and weekly titles in her orbit? “I’ve always loved a good story and I hear a lot of them in my line of work. I get to learn a lot about the areas where I work, and get to talk with such a wide cross-section of society who trust us to tell their story — and that is such a privilege. To listen to people, talk to them, and to share their story with others.
“It is also an exciting job, especially when we break a big story and when we see content performing well. With digital news especially, it is possible to immediately view the impact of a strong story with a spike in pageviews or subscriptions — and that’s because the team is producing content people want to engage with. We all want people to read our stories.”
Is there a future for the weekly?
I was lucky to be the editor of the national weekly newspaper of the year — thank you, Team Essex Chronicle — two years running. But is the term weekly newspaper / newsbrand, now becoming redundant as titles become ever-more ‘always on’ via internet and social media. Is there a future for the ‘weekly’?
Over in Cumnock, Editor Gillian Murphy has a philosophical view: “I don’t think the word ‘weekly’ resonates with our digital audience, or probably some of our reporters — but our brand is still well-known in the communities we serve and that’s what is most important,” she says.
“The ‘weekly’ is aligned with the printed product and those loyal readers and that reflects our place in the community too — we are their local newspaper. We fit into readers’ life and their buying habits. And for many titles, we’ve been there for hundreds of years.
“I believe our team doesn’t necessarily think of their title as a weekly so much anymore. So much of their work is focused on turning around content for the ever-hungry digital audience. But we work with print in mind and always try to keep an exclusive for that audience.
“Reporters still get the joy and sense of achievement at seeing the newspaper presented as a tangible product — you still want a paper-copy of your first splash, for example, just like readers want the actual newspaper with their children’s picture in it.”
Winning editor Robbie Scott at the East Lothian Courier feels there will always be a place for their unique brand of localism. “Whether it is covering East Lothian Council meetings, eight community councils a month, or weekend sports matches and every significant local event one can think of — from summer galas to Remembrance Sunday parades — we are there.”
Last word with John McLellan, director of Newsbrands Scotland who has a message for the wider issue of journalism: “A healthy weekly sector is crucial to the rest of the sector, for bringing on the next generation of national journalists.”
This article was first published in InPublishing magazine. If you would like to be added to the free mailing list to receive the magazine, please register here.
