We’re being encouraged to support our local newspapers.
It follows significant job losses at the Nationalist and Tipperary Star in recent days due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Advertising revenue has fallen for both the print media and local radio stations as many businesses have had to close their doors.
Speaking on Tipp Today earlier Mayor of Clonmel Garret Ahearn said there’s never been a more important time for local news reporting:
“The Nationalist newspaper and the Tipperary Star – and a lot of newspapers around the country – are owned by Iconic Newspapers, and their motto is ‘Life is Local’.
“It just seems to me that the very first thing they cut, the very first sacrifice they made, was in local journalism and local news.
“One of the really upsetting things actually, and I know from speaking to some of my colleagues around the country, is that a lot of the staff were given the impression that they were going to be OK for the next six months. That there were funds in place for them for the next six months to keep the papers going.”
He’s urging people, if they’re going out to do their shopping, to pick up a local newspaper.
