KM Group launches newspaper after closure of rival title

Regional publisher the Kent Messenger Group (KM Group) today announced it would be launching a new paid-for title in Sittingbourne in response to the closure of Northcliffe Media's East Kent Gazette, a title which formed part of the KM Group's failed bid for a series of its rival's newspapers.

In a release the KM Group confirmed that the new newspaper will be called the Sittingbourne News Extra and will be published for the first time on Wednesday next week, to be sold for 65p.

In October the KM Group withdrew its bid for a string of Northcliffe Media titles after the Office of Fair Trading decided it would need to refer the bid to the Competition Commission for further investigation.

The Kent-based publisher said it could not afford a referral to the commission and would have to withdraw its bid in such an event.

Northcliffe Media then announced plans to close two titles in the area - the Medway News and East Kent Gazette – which at the time the publisher said could see up to 40 job losses. The final edition of the East Kent Gazette was published on Wednesday (7 December).

The KM Group today said publication of its existing title in the area, the Sittingbourne Messenger, will continue but that more journalists were being introduced to work on the new title, along with 12 columnists who will contribute "on a rolling basis".

"We believe there is a real need for a community newspaper serving the people of Sittingbourne, and if the KRNM deal had gone ahead we would certainly have continued to publish the East Kent Gazette," chairman of the KM Group Geraldine Allinson added.

"The reaction from readers following the decision to close the title, including a well-backed Facebook campaign, gives further support to that view.

"We hope readers and advertisers will support the new title, which will be devoted entirely to the Sittingbourne area. We look forward to providing people with a truly local voice."

In the release editor Matt Ramsden added: "We are very conscious that people quite rightly had a close bond with the East Kent Gazette and that we cannot hope to replace 156 years of history. However, we hope we can work with the community to deliver a newspaper that, in time, they will think of as their own."

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