A number of Trinity Mirror paid-for regional weekly newspapers saw their circulation fall by more than 20 per cent year-on-year, new ABC figures show.
Llanelli Online reaches over 4,000 people per day. Latest figures from ABC show that the local paper The Llanelli Star’s circulation was around just under 7,000 copies per week with a -13% year on year change.
The Llanelli Star offices on Cowell Street closed at the end of December 2017 in a move, which saw the newspaper without a dedicated office for the first time in its 100 year plus existence.
Although the newspaper is still available on the news stands it has also morphed into a dedicated section for Llanelli on Wales Online.
The Press Gazette has only recently begun providing figures for the online statistics for regional newspaper sites but they only reflect the number of likes on Facebook at present.
Llanelli Online has been publishing our website statistics along with our social media statistics since we began. In April of this year we saw the number of hits reaching 4.8 million for the month.
Given the figures for the town’s newspaper there is no doubt that the majority of residents in Llanelli are now getting their news online.
The growth of online news sites representing some of the biggest names in the newspaper industry has resulted in large numbers of job losses as owners slashed the workforce, dispensed with office space and took on a new generation of journalists asked to do more for less in many instances.
Advertisers may still be stuck in the past relying on newspapers with dire circulation figures. It remains to be seen whether or not the trend of advertising online rises and usurps newspapers.
There are also questions to be asked of those whose responsibility it is to get important information and notices out to the public. In a town like Llanelli it may be more beneficial to stick a planning notice on the back of a donkey in the town centre than in a newspaper. It would almost certainly get more attention.
Advertisers are faced with a choice. Paper or online?
If you have not made the decision yet please feel free to give us a call to see what we can do for you or check out our advertising rates and packages here on the website. Check out the businesses who have made the switch in the video below. Click to enter full screen.
