The Ponteland Observer was a weekly newspaper that circulated in the village of Ponteland in Northumberland in north-east England, and later the southern part of the borough of Castle Morpeth as well as some of the north-western suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, from 1 October 1982 until 9 January 1986.
It was originally owned by Ponteland Observer Ltd, a company belonging to Michael Sharman, its first editor, who was at the same time editor of the Hexham Courant owned by Cumbrian Newspapers Ltd. Unlike other paid-for weeklies in Northumberland it was a tabloid and was not part of a larger newspaper group. At that time the only weekly newspaper to pay attention to Ponteland was the 'Ponteland edition' of the Alnwick-based Northumberland Gazette . A circulation of 2000 was claimed by the time Sharman left the Courant early in 1984, but in May that year he was found dead in his office shortly before his plans to launch a sister title to the Observer in Gosforth could be brought to fruition; a verdict of suicide was reached.
The newspaper was bought by the Tweeddale Press Group, based in Berwick upon Tweed, with effect from 18 May 1984. From 5 July 1984 it became a broadsheet newspaper "incorporated with the Morpeth Herald " - meaning that the Observer was effectively an edition of the Herald, with the front page and some interior pages changed. This arrangement ended formally from the 6 September 1984 edition, but in fact much copy continued to be shared with the Herald, and occasionally with other Tweeddale Press titles, especially the Alnwick Advertiser.
At the end of 1985 the Tweeddale Press Group decided that the Observer, with a circulation of just 1200, would never be viable, and decided to close the newspaper and its Ponteland office; the last edition was published on 9 January 1986, after which it was amalgamated with the Morpeth Herald, which until April 2021 still retained "incorporating the Ponteland Observer" on its masthead, despite subsequent changes of editor and ownership.
Northumberland is a ceremonial county, historic county, and unitary authority in North East England. The latter has a headquarters at Morpeth. Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south, Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside to the south and southeast, and the Scottish Borders to the north. The historic county town is Alnwick. Northumberland is a predominantly rural county, with the lowest population density of any county in England. The largest settlement in the county is the town of Blyth.
The Observer is a British newspaper published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its sister papers The Guardian and The Guardian Weekly, whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993, it takes a social liberal or social democratic line on most issues. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
Morpeth is a historic market town in Northumberland, North East England, lying on the River Wansbeck. Nearby towns include Ashington and Bedlington. In the 2011 census, the population of Morpeth was given as 14,017, up from 13,833 in the 2001 census. The earliest evidence of settlement is believed to be from the Neolithic period, and some Roman artifacts have also been found. The first written mention of the town is from 1080, when the de Merlay family was granted the barony of Morpeth. The meaning of the town's name is uncertain, but it may refer to its position on the road to Scotland and a murder which occurred on that road. The de Merlay family built two castles in the town in the late 11th century and the 13th century. The town was granted its coat of arms in 1552. By the mid 1700s it had become one of the main markets in England, having been granted a market charter in 1200, but the opening of the railways in the 1800s led the market to decline. The town's history is celebrated in the annual Northumbrian Gathering.
The Coventry Telegraph is a local English tabloid newspaper. It was founded as The Midland Daily Telegraph in 1891 by William Isaac Iliffe, and was Coventry's first daily newspaper. Sold for half a penny, it was a four-page broadsheet newspaper. It changed its name to the Coventry Evening Telegraph on 17 November 1941. On 2 October 2006, the Telegraph simply became the Coventry Telegraph, reflecting its switch to a morning publication.
The Northumberland Gazette is a weekly newspaper published in Alnwick, Northumberland, England. It serves Alnwick, Amble, Seahouses, Rothbury, Wooler and outlying districts.
The Morpeth Herald is a weekly newspaper published in Morpeth, Northumberland, England. The newspaper serves Morpeth, Ponteland, Pegswood, Ellington, Lynemouth, Widdrington Station and the outlying districts.
The Herald-Sun is an American, English language daily newspaper in Durham, North Carolina, published by the McClatchy Company.
The East Anglian Daily Times is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich.
The newspapers of Yorkshire have a long history, stretching back to the 18th century. Regional newspapers have enjoyed varying fortunes, reflected in the large number of now-defunct papers from Yorkshire.
The Bath Chronicle is a weekly newspaper, first published under various titles before 1760 in Bath, England. Prior to September 2007, it was published daily. The Bath Chronicle serves Bath, northern Somerset and West Wiltshire.
Community Newspapers Inc. (CNI) is a subsidiary of Gannett. Based in New Berlin, Wisconsin, it publishes eight weekly newspapers in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. CNI has about 110 full-time employees and about 30 part-time employees.
The Peterborough Herald and Post was a weekly freesheet delivered to households in the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. It was run from offices on Cross Street in the city centre, until ceasing operations in 2008.
Robert Whinham (1814–1893) was a fiddler, composer and dancing master from Morpeth, Northumberland. Many tunes composed by him are still played, notably Remember Me on the hornpipe, Whinham's Reel, and The Cambo March. A 1995 book on his life and music, called Remember Me by Graham Dixon, summarises most of what is known about him.
Alnwick RFC is an amateur rugby union club based in the town of Alnwick, Northumberland in north-east England. The club play in North Premier, a level five league in the English rugby union system and are the most northerly rugby union club in English league rugby,. Alnwick regularly field three senior sides, all of which play competitive league and cup rugby. The club also has a junior section running teams from under 7's through to under 18's and a girls section.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust which provides hospital and community health services in North Tyneside and hospital, community health and adult social care services in Northumberland.
The Tweeddale Press Group is a newspaper and magazine publisher in the Scottish Borders, which has been a subsidiary of the Johnston Press since 2000.
The Southern Reporter is a weekly tabloid format sold in the Scottish Borders. It comes out on Thursdays and is owned by Johnston Press. It has a circulation of around 5,400.
JPIMedia plc is a multimedia company purchased by National World plc in January 2021. JPIMedia Ltd was founded in 2018, following the acquisition of Johnston Press assets by its creditors.