Duncan Williams (newspaper executive)

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Duncan Williams is a British publisher involved in regional news and sport media. Williams has been described as a media entrepreneur [1] by members of the newspaper industry. He bought a portfolio of hyper-local newspapers during a period of industry transition, [2] where long established titles were closing down and often selling at rock bottom prices. [3] As rapid readership migrations from print to digital took hold, Williams maintained that "the real value investment is in the brand". [4]

However, critics insisted that his controversial acquisition of View From Newspapers, [5] as well as the historic Pulman's Weekly News [6] series had resulted in significant local job losses.

Williams is also known for his work within the faith publishing sector, [7] [8] where he was involved in the surprise post- Leveson success of a Christian themed magazine [9] named Sorted gaining a foothold within the mainstream and highly competitive lads' mag marketplace. [10] For many years he has continued to provide niche content and news reports for ChristianToday.com [11] and Good News papers.

Additionally, Sport Newspapers were acquired by Williams, who had invested in their development from exclusively print based titles to "real time" digital brands, with an expanded reach gained from social media and online news syndication.

During an earlier career in print journalism, Duncan Williams always stated that he was a lifelong Labour Party supporter. He had once stood as a Labour Party candidate for Abingdon Ward during the 2002 [12] local council elections, held within the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. Throughout a gruelling 3 year [13] long Employment Tribunal case and Tribunal Appeal process, [14] initially brought against him by 31 fellow journalists and newspaper employees, Williams maintained he sympathised with all the claimants because he himself was still "a trade union member". [15]

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References

  1. ↑ Sharman, David. "Duncan Williams vows to expand Pulman's Weekly News - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  2. ↑ "Daily Mail group puts its regional press up for sale". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  3. ↑ "Trinity Mirror puts regional newspapers up for sale - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldTheFrontPage. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  4. ↑ "Crowdfund bid to save seven local newspapers shut down in West Country with loss of 20 jobs – Press Gazette". www.pressgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  5. ↑ "Nearly 30 journalists claiming £250,000 in redundancy and notice payments after closure of View From newspaper series – Press Gazette". www.pressgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  6. ↑ Merritt, Anita (2018-09-18). "Media director who purchased company for £1 is faces hefty bill". cornwalllive. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2022-07-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ↑ "Publisher speaks out over churches' 'rigid' values when treating people for drug and alcohol abuse". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  9. ↑ "Sorted: a revolution in media | Christian News on Christian Today". www.christiantoday.com. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  10. ↑ "'Wholesome' men's mag with a Christian slant bucks the trend of circulation decline | Press Gazette". www.pressgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  11. ↑ "Duncan Williams". www.christiantoday.com. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  12. ↑ "2002 Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council election", Wikipedia, 2022-08-09, retrieved 2022-08-09
  13. ↑ Sharman, David. "View From series journalists win three-year pay fight - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  14. ↑ Twitter, Charlotte Tobitt (2020-02-17). "Businessman loses appeal against money owed to former local paper employees". Press Gazette. Retrieved 2022-08-09.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. ↑ Wilkins, Daniel (2020-05-27). "Backdated wages secured for staff of defunct newspapers following two-year legal battle". Midweek Herald. Retrieved 2022-08-09.


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