'A sad day for the town,' as local newspaper closes

Trevor Love says he's very disappointed by the news

One of Ireland's oldest newspapers, the Down Recorder, has ceased publication after 189 years.

The weekly newspaper, based in Downpatrick, began printing in 1836.

The owner Marcus Crichton confirmed the final edition of the paper was published on Wednesday.

He said the newspaper industry was experiencing "difficult times".

What are people in the area saying?

Local man Trevor Love, from Downpatrick, who "always" reads the Down Recorder says it's "a pity".

He said: "It is sad it's happened but these things happen in life now," adding: "Everybody picks [news] up on the phone now."

Mr Love says he knows many people who've worked for the paper over the years.

"It'd be very sad if they just found out today. The people should have been told long before this.

"I am very disappointed by the news."

What are staff saying?

BBC News NI spoke to a "gutted" staff member from the Down Recorder, who did not wish to be named but said Friday morning's news had come as a "shock".

The long-serving staff member said: "Today there remain many unanswered questions for staff. We feel really sad that it has come to this.

"Did we think it was going to close today? No we didn't.

"The paper has been the heart and soul of this district for most 200 years.

"This will come as a shock to Downpatrick and the wider district, for many people the paper was a lifeline and their only way of finding out local news."

'Good local news'

Former editor of the Down Recorder, Joe McCoubrey, called the news "devastating".

"It's hard to believe that an institution has been past into history today, so disappointing for everyone concerned," he said.

"Local newspapers over the years have been the heart blood of rural communities."

He added that Downpatrick and the area surrounding it "depended on the Down Recorder every week to bring it its news and information about the locality".

Mr McCoubrey, who joined in 1971, described the paper as "a way of life" and "a ritual for people" to get up to speed with what was happening on their doorstep.

He said during his tenure the paper changed to appeal to readers.

"We changed from broadsheet to tabloid to try to refresh and bring a new look to the paper and make it more exciting and interesting for people to use," he said.

"What we tried to do was provide magazine type information to people, broadly speaking, not just bring them up on a diet of courts and councils, but to provide good local news that we felt people wanted to read about."

'Sudden and unexpected'

National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Irish assistant secretary Séamus Dooley said the closure of the paper was "sudden and unexpected" to the staff and the local community.

"The Recorder was part of the fabric of the local community for over 189 years and the closure will mark the end of an era.

"It is important that staff are treated properly and fairly since they have been the backbone of the paper," he added.

'Blow for staff members'

The most recent edition of the Down Recorder

The Social Democratic and Labour Party's (SDLP's) MLA for the area said it was a "sad day for Downpatrick".

Colin McGrath told BBC News NI that the paper was "an institution that has provided news and community updates for the local area and people will really miss that weekly update but I do think it is a reflection of the times".

"People are no longer purchasing papers. They are going online to get their information and I think that that just means we lose a little part of our community whenever these publications close down," he said.

However he added that there was "absolutely a place for the print media".

"This will obviously be a blow for those staff members that will only have heard at short notice that this is happening.

"It's one of the oldest newspapers on these islands and it is just sad that that will no longer be there."

'A great loss'

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor Callum Bowsie said he was "very saddened" to hear the news.

In a post on social media, he said: "I have been reading the Down Recorder since I was a child and it gave me a great interest in community affairs from a young age.

"I have always found its coverage to be fair and its staff professional."

He added: "Losing our main source of local journalism is a great loss for our district."

Cafe owner Helen Martin says "the town is dying, because everything's closing down"

Helen Martin, who owns a cafe across the road from the Down Recorder's office, said it's very "sad".

"This town grew up on that paper and everybody bought it every week to read all the school reports, everything, advertising to see what was going on."

"It's terrible, the town is dying, because everything's closing down," she said.

"Hopefully we can get some big name shops into the town or something that will revive it and maybe bring back the paper."

Veronica Doherty says she has "always loved" the paper

Local woman Veronica Doherty, who buys the paper every week, said it's "shocking".

The seventy-eight year-old said: "I always loved that paper."

Kevin Quinn, who describes himself as an "occasional reader," said he gets his news online.

He said he uses news apps to "get news as it's coming to you".

Darren Kearney, who's a cafe owner in the town, said the Down Recorder has been "a staple in Downpatrick"

"It's very, very sad that we'll be losing our local newspaper," he added.

Analysis: Newspaper industry facing challenges

The building sits on the main access route into the town

Cormac Campbell, BBC News NI south-east reporter

The closure of the Down Recorder is the latest example of the challenges faced by the local newspaper industry.

Family owned and committed to quality output, the paper went from being named newspaper of the year in 2014 to closing little more than a decade later.

To the end it was breaking original stories and ably covering the towns and villages of south east Down.

Its challenges were micro and macro - a declining industry faced with changing online habits as well as the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns will have taken a toll on sales and advertising revenue.

Its loss will be felt in many ways. As well as a gap in news coverage the Down Recorder building itself is one of the most prominent in the Downpatrick.

Sitting on the main access route into the town it's located immediately beside the arts centre, courthouse, cathedral and main shopping streets - the very things that helped fuel its output for 189 years.

Readers and staff will be hoping that a similar resolution to what happened across the Mournes in Newry in 2023 can be arrived at.

After announcing it was to close, the Newry Reporter was bought over, moved premises and still remains in print.

A similar scenario here would mean this is a case of holding the front page rather than stopping the presses.