WHITE Horse News is celebrating a significant milestone after the number of newspapers distributed each fortnight has now broken through the 10,000 barrier.
The increase in copies printed and distributed reflects the continued growth of Westbury and the surrounding villages and the growing popularity of the free fortnightly newspaper that provides more Westbury news stories than any other newspaper.
The paper has continued to go from strength to strength since it was launched in 1991 and now distributes 10,045 copies covering Westbury and all the surrounding villages within three miles with a unique door-to-door delivery service.
It is run by Ian and Susan Drew and is one of the few locally-owned newspapers left in Britain today with most local papers now being owned by large national and international groups.
Ian said, “It is great that we continue to go from strength to strength and the demand keeps going up particularly in a time when sales of paid-for local newspapers is on the slide.
“We pride ourselves on the quantity and quality of news we provide for the people of Westbury and hope the paper continues to be a success for a long time to come.
“The White Horse News would not be running today without the fantastic support of our loyal band of advertisers (whose revenue pays for the newspaper) and the support of organisations, groups and individuals in Westbury and the surrounding villages. We are really grateful to you all for your tremendous support.
“We have always seen the newspaper as a community paper and we welcome contributions from all local clubs, organisations and individuals who feel they have something to say about the town and what is happening.”
White Horse News has sister free newspapers in Melksham (Melksham Independent News) and Frome (Frome Times), which are all published fortnightly. The three newspapers come under the umbrella of Wiltshire Publications Ltd, which is entirely independent of other newspaper groups. All the staff are local people and the papers are even printed locally, at the group’s printing press in Holt.
“We are proud that we are one of the few independent family-owned newspapers left in the country,” added Ian and Susan.
