Walsall Observer

Defunct British weekly newspaper

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The Walsall Observer was a weekly newspaper, published in Walsall in the West Midlands of England from 1868 to 2009.

## History

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Founded October 24, 1868[1] by brothers John and William Griffin as The Walsall Observer, and General District Advertiser, it became a regional weekly. By 1962, as the Walsall Observer and South Staffordshire Chronicle, it was the only surviving paper in Walsall, having absorbed such competitors as the Walsall Advertiser.[2] By 1990 it had become a free newspaper.[3] By 2006, it had gone from nine journalists on staff twenty-five years earlier (i.e., circa 1981) to one senior, one trainee, and an editor shared with two other weekly papers; and, the National Union of Journalists charged, was reduced to a situation where "the paper largely regurgitates submitted material and press releases with little or no challenge.".[4] In 2009, owners Trinity Mirror closed it down along with several other Midlands weeklies.

Former reporters for the Observer include David Ennals, Baron Ennals; Steve Green; Jane Kelly; Ruth Elliott-Smith and Richard Tomkins.

## References

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1. ^ British Museum Dept. of Printed Books Catalogue. Supplement: Newspapers published in Great Britain and Ireland..., 1905; p. 330
2. ^ House of Commons. Parliamentary papers Volume 21; p. 416
3. ^ Benn Business Information Services. Benn's Media Directory, 1990 p. 190
4. ^ House of Lords Select Committee on Communications. "The ownership of the news: Evidence, Volume 2" The Stationery Office, 2008; p. 106, 146

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