Three upbeat predictions for the local press, from Sir Ray Tindle

Sir Ray Tindle quotes recent research from Brand Science into the effectiveness of local paper advertising.
He says that, with newspapers, advertisers see £6.23 in new business for every £1 they spend, compared with £2.23 and £3.57 in other media.

Tindle Newspapers has bought or launched 12 weekly titles since the start of the downturn
If there is a problem, says Sir Ray. it's local authority newspapers: “These propaganda sheets are a real menace to local democracy.”
The video covers part of a talk Sir Ray gave at the Local Heroes conference organised by Press Gazette and Kingston University

Video Masterclass: The hyperlocal solution for ailing local papers

Sir Ray Tindle has turned round numerous papers by going back to a firmly hyper-local approach.
In this video, of part of a talk he gave at the Local Heroes conference organised by Press Gazette and Kingston University, he tells the story of the Tenby Observer.
It was in receivership when Tindle Newspapers bought it, and had published it's last edition. You'll find the full story on the video, and more on the topic of the local press and what it offers trainee journalists in the Masterclass section of Multimedia Journalism: A Practical Guide.
But Sir Ray begins by outlining how he bought his first paper, the Tooting Gazette, with a £300 gratuity received when demobilised from the army at the end of the Second World War.

Next video: The power of the local press

How I launched three titles into the recession: Sir Ray Tindle on a business model for hard times

Sir Ray had a London title that had lost £192,000 over 10 months. He says the normal solution to such a problem would be either closure or mass redundancy. He chose a new tack, to create three new, very local titles, and to target advertisers who could not afford, or did not want, the exposure the one original wide-ranging title offered.

'The local press is rock solid': Sir Ray Tindle

Sir Ray Tindle, owner of the 230-title Tindle Newspapers group, shrugs off assertions that 50 per cent of the press will be dead within five years, and says: “The local weekly press is rock solid, with revenue rising again and looking forward to another 200 years of serving their readers.”
Sir Ray was speaking at the Local Heroes conference, organised by Press Gazette and Kingston University.
Sir Ray says he’s been hearing about the dire state of the press for 63 years, and makes a strong case for why it will survive and thrive.
Find out more about what local papers can offer the trainee journalist in Masterclass 10 at www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk