After Radio Orkney broke the story at lunchtime, the Orkney Media Group has now confirmed that it is to axe the Orkney Today, the newest of Orkney's two weekly newspapers, and the current Highlands and Islands Newspaper of the Year. The surviving paper, The Orcadian, is also owned by the Orkney Media Group, which was formed in 2007 through a merger of the The Orcadian Ltd, owned by the Miller family, and Orkney Today Ltd., owned by the Robertson Group.
Orkney Today was launched on October 3rd 2003, originally coming out on a Friday, with a manifesto of positive news coverage pledging to 'provide a pro-active, campaigning community newspaper that puts Orkney and its people first.' In the editorial in the first issue talk of a newspaper war is played down as nonsense- 'Competition is healthy. I'm sure our rivals agree. Our arrival gives the people of Orkney a better deal and a better choice.' Edited by John Ross Scott and fronted by Ken Amer, the paper was printed by Highland Offset in Dingwall in spare time between other North Highland papers.
The Friday publication date was an initial millstone, as inevitably many stories had a sense of deja vu from The Orcadian on the Thursday, but the paper sucessfully carved its own niche with impact photography, feature interviews, and dedicated farming and schools sections, as well as the popular Hoo's Hid Gaan profile of movers and shakers. Coupled with the Orkney public's love of novelty, the paper reached a circulation in excess of 6,000 and regularly filled 48 pages as both papers traded blows. At the outset many businesses advertised in both Orkney Today and The Orcadian, backing both horses in case they found different niches, and to support the new title.
The height of the circulation war could be viewed as a high water mark, as we had never seen so much printed news, and the bar was raised for news coverage in Orkney. Novel ideas were introduced such as a free downloadable version of Orkney Today, an idea later binned as commercial pressures hit home. Awards were won for journalism and photography.
However the creation of The Orkney Media Group created a paradox which became more obvious as time went on, but which remained unresolved until today- why should they produce two papers, with two sets of staff, covering the same news, carrying the same contributed articles, coming out on the same day and printed on the same presses, and expect the public to buy them both? What was initially healthy competition between two newspaper publishers was now viewed with cycnicism by the public, reinforced by an almost immediate large hike in both papers' cover price and with salt rubbed into the wound by reduced numbers of pages.
Orkney Today struggled gamely on to maintain a separate identity, but a move of their offices up to a cramped extension at The Orcadian's print works made the ongoing paradox more obvious, and the answer to the question 'If you had to advertise in only one paper, which would it be?' became for most advertisers "The Orcadian..." The same was true for letter writers, and the Orkney Today page count began to lag behind that of The Orcadian, making it look like poorer value despite often having the best stories and most interesting features. Latterly the departure of key staff including founder Ken Amer and original staff members George Stout and Brian Flett as cost-cutting bit seemed to suggest all was not well.
With the demise of the Orkney Today, we should feel sorry for all its staff who have done such a good job over the last 7 years, and contributed greatly to a modernisation of local media, ultimately suffering due to their paper's lack of independence.
What happens now? Will there be an Orkney Today next week, or will issue 364 be the last, two weeks short of the paper's 7th birthday? Will The Orcadian absorb some of the Orkney Today staff and widen and improve its coverage, or will it too be pared down in staff and milk its monopoly position? Increase in cover price before Christmas anyone? Will someone else start an independent paper, with the early days of Orkney Today having shown it could work? Or is printed news an anachronism, with all news now broken online, and free, essentially advertising, publications like Metro filling the gap?
Best wishes to Catherine, Robert , Craig, Victoria, Andrew, Eileen, Glynis, Carrie and Leigh.
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