Berrow's Worcester Journal

Last updated

Berrow's Worcester Journal
The world's oldest newspaper: Established 1690
BerrowsJournal.gif
Berrow's Worcester Journal Header
Type Weekly Freesheet Newspaper (Thursday)
Format Tabloid
Owner(s) Newsquest Media Group
Subsidiary of Gannett
EditorStephanie Preece [1]
Founded1690;334 years ago (1690)
HeadquartersBerrow's House
Hylton Road
Worcester
WR2 5JX.
CityWorcester
CountryEngland
Circulation 6,186(as of 2023) [2]
Sister newspapers Worcester News
OCLC number 31683341
Website berrowsjournal.co.uk

Berrow's Worcester Journal is a weekly freesheet tabloid newspaper, based in Worcester, England. Owned by Newsquest, the newspaper is delivered across central and southern Worcestershire.

Contents

History

16th century printing press

Worcester was one of the earliest locations in Britain to have a printing press where its first press was established in 1548 [3] and set up by John Oswin who printed several books on it between 1548 and 1553. [4]

Stephen Bryan

The first established records of a Worcester newspaper date from 1690 when Stephen Bryan founded the Worcester Post-Man, which has been published ever since, although its name changed to the Worcester Journal and then to the current name Berrow's Worcester Journal, thus laying claim to being the oldest newspaper in the world in continuous and current production. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Local news was relatively rare in the first decade of publication and it was published irregularly from 1690 until 1709, the period following the deposing of James II (& VII) after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 which had seen the beginning of a free press in the country. After about 1720 Bryan began to include more local items. [9] In the time that Bryan owned the paper it was published on Fridays. [10]

Berrow family

Front page of Berrow's Worcester Journal dated 7 January 1779 BerrowsWorcester1779Front.jpeg
Front page of Berrow's Worcester Journal dated 7 January 1779

In April 1748, Bryan sold the paper to Harvey Berrow who changed its name to The Worcester Journal and its publication day to Thursday.

From 11 October 1753 the paper was published as Berrow's Worcester Journal. [11]

This final name change was prompted when a competitor, Richard Lewis, tried to profit from the success of the Worcester Journal by launching the similar-sounding New Worcester Journal. Lewis's other efforts to take market share from the older paper included publishing on Wednesdays (the day before Berrow) and circulating a report in Bewdley, Kidderminster, and Stourbridge that Berrow's newsmen had left his service. [12]

Berrow was the third son of Capel Berrow (died 1751), a clergyman, and younger brother of Capel Berrow the writer, [13] and was an apothecary in Peterborough. This was not unusual during this time as early newspaper proprietors would sell medicines alongside their newspapers. Berrow promoted in his paper his elixir for dropsy and his powder for gout. The paper was sold for 2½d every week with five pages.

Harvey Berrow carried on the Journal until his death on 16 August 1776, when his eldest son, also Harvey Berrow, continued the publication until his death in the following year, on 11 June 1777. The newspaper's ownership was succeeded by his sister, Elizabeth Berrow, whose name appeared upon the Journal until 23 December 1779, after which her name is superseded by that of John Tymbs, to whom she was married on 23 September 1779. [14]

Present era

In 1982 Berrow's Worcester Journal was taken over by Reed International. [15] [16] The style of the newspaper changed on 26 June 1987 [15] when it became a free newspaper. Newsquest subsequently acquired the Reed newspapers and is the current parent of Berrow's Worcester Journal.

In 1990, the newspaper celebrated its tercentenary (1690-1990) and to mark the occasion, specially commissioned china was produced by Royal Worcester Porcelain at its nearby city factory. [15]

Although the Berrow family have long ceased to have any connection with the paper, their name has perpetuated and the paper continues to be published weekly. Alongside free doorstep delivery, the newspaper is accessible as a free and unsubscribed online edition.

As of December 2023, Berrow's Worcester Journal is one of a number of Newsquest's newspapers using AI-assisted journalism. [1]

Citations

  1. 1 2 Topping, Alexandra (28 December 2023). "How one of the world's oldest newspapers is using AI to reinvent journalism". The Guardian.
  2. ↑ "Worcester Journal (Berrows)". Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK). 22 February 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  3. ↑ Worcester Civic Society (2015). "Vol.9 Issue.2" (PDF). Newsletter. Worcester. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Worcester Printing "Where it all began" - page 2". Worcester News. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "World's oldest newspaper celebrates its 325th birthday". Worcester News. Worcester. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "History of British newspapers". News Media Association. London. 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "Berrow's Worcester Journal - History of the newspaper: Introduction". Worcester News. Newsquest. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  8. ↑ Franklin, Bob; Hamer, Martin; Hanna, Mark; Kinsey, Marie; Richardson, John E (2005). "Institutions". Key Concepts in Journalism Studies. SAGE Publications. p. 298. ISBN   0-7619-4481-8.
  9. ↑ Wiles, p. 257
  10. ↑ Wiles, p. 65
  11. ↑ Wiles, p. 506
  12. ↑ Wiles, p. 91
  13. ↑ Cooper, Margaret. "Berrow, Harvey". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/70356.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  14. ↑ "Newspaper Surveys Berrow's Worcester Journal". Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 "Berrow's Worcester Journal - History of the newspaper: Chapter 6" . Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  16. ↑ "Timeline". Reed Elsevier. Archived from the original on 30 October 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Oregonian</i> Daily newspaper published in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Oregonian is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850, and published daily since 1861. It is the largest newspaper in Oregon and the second largest in the Pacific Northwest by circulation. It is one of the few newspapers with a statewide focus in the United States. The Sunday edition is published under the title The Sunday Oregonian. The regular edition was published under the title The Morning Oregonian from 1861 until 1937.

<i>The London Gazette</i> Official public record of the UK government

The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published. The Gazette is not a conventional newspaper offering general news coverage. It does not have a large circulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gannett</span> United States newspaper company

Gannett Co., Inc. is an American mass media holding company headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation.

<i>The Herald</i> (Glasgow) Scottish broadsheet newspaper

The Herald is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. The Herald is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from The Glasgow Herald in 1992. Following the closure of the Sunday Herald, the Herald on Sunday was launched as a Sunday edition on 9 September 2018.

Newsquest Media Group Limited is the second largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom. It is owned by the American mass media holding company Gannett. It has 205 brands across the UK, publishing online and in print and reaches 28 million visitors a month online and 6.5 million readers a week in print. Based in London, Newsquest employs a total of more than 5,500 people across the UK. It also has a specialist arm that publishes both commercial and business-to-business (B2B) titles such as Insurance Times, The Strad and Boxing News.

<i>Wiener Zeitung</i> Austrian newspaper (1703–present)

Wiener Zeitung is an Austrian newspaper. First published as the Wiennerisches Diarium in 1703, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the world. Until April 2023, it was the official gazette of the government of the Republic of Austria for legally-required announcements, such as company registrations and was also the official publishing body for laws and executive orders until 2004.

<i>The Northern Echo</i> Newspaper

The Northern Echo is a regional daily morning newspaper based in the town of Darlington in North East England, serving mainly southern County Durham and northern Yorkshire. The paper covers national as well as regional news. In 2007, its then-editor claimed that it was one of the most famous provincial newspapers in the United Kingdom. Its first edition was published on 1 January 1870.

<i>Hampshire Chronicle</i> English weekly newspaper published in Hampshire from 1772

The Hampshire Chronicle is a local newspaper based in Winchester, Hampshire, England. The first edition was published on 24 August 1772, making it one of the oldest publications in England.

<i>The Bolton News</i> Daily newspaper and news website in northwestern England

The Bolton News – formerly the Bolton Evening News – is a daily newspaper and news website covering the towns of Bolton and Bury in north-western England. Published each morning from Monday to Saturday and online every day, it is part of the Newsquest media group, a subsidiary of the U.S media giant Gannett Inc. The current editor is Richard Duggan, who also oversees other titles in the North West of England.

The Daily Times is a morning daily English-language (broadsheet) publication based in Salisbury, Maryland, United States, and primarily covers Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset counties, and regional coverage across the Delmarva Peninsula. It has been a Gannett publication since 2002. The online news product is Delmarva Now.

Events from the year 1709 in Great Britain.

<i>South Wales Argus</i> Evening daily tabloid newspaper published in Newport

The South Wales Argus is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Newport, South Wales. The Argus is distributed in Newport, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, and Torfaen.

<i>Cambridge Chronicle</i> Defunct newspaper serving Cambridge, MA

The Cambridge Chronicle was a weekly newspaper that served Cambridge, Massachusetts. The newspaper was founded by Andrew Reid in May 1846. It ceased publication of its print edition in 2022, after being purchased by Gannett. It no longer publishes stories of its own, instead re-publishing regional stories from other Gannett papers.

The Stamford Mercury based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, claims to be "Britain's oldest continuously published newspaper title", although this is disputed by Berrow's Worcester Journal which was established in 1690. The Mercury has been published since 1712 but its masthead formerly claimed it was established in 1695 and still has "Britain's Oldest Newspaper".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newspaper</span> Scheduled publication of information about current events

A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports, art, and science. They often include materials such as opinion columns, weather forecasts, reviews of local services, obituaries, birth notices, crosswords, editorial cartoons, comic strips, and advice columns.

The Newcastle Journal was a folio-sized weekly newspaper published in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 1739 to 1788.

<i>Surrey Comet</i>

The Surrey Comet is a weekly local newspaper covering the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South West London, and surrounding areas. It is now a free sheet but can also be purchased. It was founded in 1854 and is among the oldest London newspapers and the oldest newspaper covering Surrey. The newspaper is published once a week, every Friday, and is sold in Kingston upon Thames, Norbiton, Surbiton, Tolworth, New Malden, Old Malden, Worcester Park, Hook and Chessington.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.