Sunday Herald to close but The Herald and The National to run seven days a week
Newsquest has confirmed it will close its Glasgow-based newspaper The Sunday Herald in September. In its place, daily broadsheet The Herald and pro-Scottish independence title The National will start publishing on Sundays.
Newsquest shutters The Sunday Herald
It was announced earlier this month that The Herald and The Sunday Herald teams were to be merged to become a seven-day operation. Staff were today told that the distinct Sunday paper will publish its final issue on 9 September.
According to the most recent audit from the ABC (July to December 2017), The Sunday Herald enjoyed a circulation of 18,387 per issue while The Herald's stood at 25, 869 and The National's 9,746. In line with the continuous print slump at UK nationals, it is likely these figures have changed in the last eight months.
The Sunday Herald, under editor Richard Walker, become the only national newspaper to endorse the 'Yes' campaign in the Scottish indepencence referendum in 2014, a move that gave it a short-term sales boost. On the back of that success, The National was piloted as a strident voice for supporters of independence. Now its remit has been expanded.
A statement from The National editor Callum Baird read: "This is the next step for us, and it has the potential – if it’s a success – to transform our operation and secure our future.
"Of course, it’s a difficult time for people who have an attachment with the Sunday Herald. It was my favourite newspaper growing up and – apart from a few bylines in Morton match reports – one of my biggest regrets is that I never had the chance to properly work for the newspaper."
He said The Sunday Herald was "at its best was bold, innovative, informative and cool. It was a brilliant newspaper – and it will be missed."
Baird concluded: "It’s our job now to keep that flame alive – and to make sure that the views of half of Scotland are represented on a Sunday morning."
Breaking: The Sunday Herald has been axed. New Herald on Sunday and Sunday National launched Sep 9, Herald staff told our paper and new Sunday will remain neutral on Indy and National will continue to back Indy.
— David Leask (@LeaskyHT) August 23, 2018
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said it was unaware of any redundancies at the company as a result of the changes. John Toner, its national organiser for Scotland, said: “We will be meeting with the company to seek assurances on staffing issues arising from this decision.”
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