Midlands’ biggest free weekly returns — and launches in Sutton Coldfield too
One of the country’s largest free weekly newspapers has hit the streets again — and embarked on expansion too.
In a post on linkedin, the Wolverhampton Express and Star told readers: “It’s great to be back printing the region’s largest free weekly newspaper Chronicle Week.”
Publication was suspended last November when a second National lockdown was announced by the government — with a pledge to back as soon as possible.
Now the title, which has editions across the Black Country and Staffordshire, has also launched an edition for Sutton Coldfield. Until last year, the town, part of Birmingham, was served by the Sutton Coldfield Observer, part of Reach, but it did not survive the pandemic.
Reporter Matt Panter, writing on the front of the Sutton Coldfield edition, said: “For all the devastation of the pandemic, it has shown us that Sutton Coldfield is a kind-hearted, caring community.
“I feel in a very privileged position at the moment to be involved in the launch of the Royal Sutton Coldfield Chronicle Week.
“As someone born in the Royal Town and who studied journalism at Sutton Coldfield College, it’s a town very close to my heart.
“I was also proud to work, as a reporter and sports editor on the Sutton Coldfield Observer for 20 years. It was an honour to report on the community then and it will be the same now.”
Former Sutton Coldfield Observer editor Gary Phelps, whose stable of titles at Local World, then Reach, included the Tamworth Herald, has signed up as a columnist for the new launch.
Writing in the paper, he said: “You hold in your hands a rare and wondrous thing. Make no mistake — a brand-new newspaper being launched in the 21st century is somewhat unusual. That’s why we should all celebrate the launch of the Royal Sutton Coldfield edition of Chronicle Week.
“Newspapers are brilliant. Don’t get me wrong — digital news is great too. Online news is attention-grabbing, immediate, instant. It’s fantastic for reporting an unfolding situation or capturing action on video.
“But traditional, community news coverage sits less comfortably on the internet and needs the tactile, physical habitat of the printed news page to prosper.
“A good weekly newspaper allows readers to see themselves, their neighbours, their friends, their streets, their businesses, their lives, reflected back at them each week.
“During my times as an editor, I’d often visit schools to talk to youngsters about journalism. Afterwards, we’d take a big group picture and the kids would all chirp up: “Is it going to be in the paper?” They never asked: “Is it going to be on the internet?”
“And that’s because there is something special about appearing in a newspaper, even in the digital world of the 21st century. With the launch of this paper, Sutton Coldfield once again has that opportunity.”
