'Where do you get your local news from?' A talk by Dr Julia Paul as part of Heritage Open Days Festival.
For years Southport had two main weekly newspapers, while dozens of other titles served the nearby towns. Although The Southport Visiter is still printed, many of the other newspapers have closed.
The Visiter is one of the oldest weekly newspapers in the UK. Its first edition was published on Saturday 4th May 1844. Many people also remember The Champion, the free newspaper series that opened in 1994, and closed in 2022. An industry that was once a part of every home in the UK is disappearing.
Now Dr Julia Paul, a journalist and academic who lives in Southport, is recording oral histories with the people who produced the town’s newspapers. Her project, Behind the Headlines of Southport’s Newspapers, will capture the memories of those who worked in the industry. But also highlight that although newspapers as a product feel like an anachronism, the need for local news for local people is as important as it ever was.
In this talk, Dr Julia Paul will present the memories of the local people she’s interviewed so far.
You can find out more about Dr Paul’s work at https://drjuliapaul.com/
Main image credit: Stand Up For Southport