End of an era as The Nairnshire Telegraph publishes its final edition
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The Nairnshire Telegraph published its final edition this week – with the pandemic being a factor in its demise.
The weekly newspaper's editor Iain Bain said the announcement was made with immense regret and that his family had been associated with the product for more than 150 years.
He said: "The Nairnshire faced immediate problems posed by the pandemic with the first period of lockdown last March. Advertising revenue was substantially cut, circulation was hit as one of our major outlets closed temporarily and, of course, the things we normally report like sport and local meetings vanished from the scene."
He thanked readers and advertisers who stood by the newspaper this year.
"The possibility of closure has haunted us on a nearly week by week basis since the lockdown began," Mr Bain said. "As the year progressed continued publication looked possible and I again thank supporters of the Nairnshire who were very helpful, including politicians and especially local MSP Fergus Ewing. But the pandemic and lockdown had another effect. It brought to an end discussions on the continuation of the Nairnshire by another publisher.
"We have always celebrated 'small' at the Nairnshire and the role that we perceive in serving the community of Nairn. Our consistent theme has been to defend Nairn and Nairnshire against the inexorable loss of its civic identity and to promote projects such as the Nairn Bypass. But small is not so beautiful when you measure it up against the investment that is required and business conditions which are difficult at the best of times, let alone the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
"These are not the best of days for print media and especially smaller newspapers."
Mr Bain added: "Those who produce the Nairnshire are in the vulnerable age group and even inoculated [against Covid-19], face the fact that we are past usual retirement age. Time alone dictates that retirement.
"The Nairnshire Telegraph and Nairnshire Mirror titles remain the property of The Nairnshire Telegraph Ltd and are for sale. The holding company remains in business at the moment and we are contemplating other publishing projects under The Nairnshire Telegraph name. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for future developments."
