KOS Media was a multimedia company based in the county of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...

. The company operated local newspapers and internet sites throughout the county.

History

KOS Media's first newspaper, the ''

Kent on Sunday ''Kent on Sunday'' was a regional newspaper covering the county of Kent in the United Kingdom. Starting in 2002, it was published on every Sunday of the year and was available from supermarkets, garages and newsagents. The newspaper was the fla ...

'' was launched as a free newspaper in 2002 and closed in November 2017. The company was based in

Smeeth Smeeth is a mostly agricultural land use village and civil parish, centred east of Ashford in the Ashford Borough of Kent, England. Geography Smeeth is a small village in population near Mersham Hatch Park on the A20 road from Ashford to Fol ...

, near

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

. Until May 2009 all KOS Media newspapers were free. In June both ''Kent on Saturday'' and ''Kent on Sunday'' became paid for in the newsagents, to increase availability, whilst the free copies were diverted to business rounds and home delivery. The mid-week local papers remained free. All titles have a fast-growing online audience as they are available free as a page-turning e-edition, or by subscription online. KOS Media was purchased by

Archant Archant Limited is a newspaper and magazine publishing company headquartered in Norwich, England. The group publishes four daily newspapers, around 50 weekly newspapers, and 80 consumer and contract magazines. Archant employs around 1,250 empl ...

in June 2010, having had had a minority interest in KOS Media since 2005.

Newspapers

Free newspapers

In the summer of 2007 KOS Media introduced free, local papers for different parts of Kent, with three more added in 2009. These were published on Wednesdays and ceased publication in January 2011.

2007 launches

* ''Kent on Saturday'' * ''yourashford'' * ''yourcanterbury'' * ''yourdover'' * ''yourmaidstone'' * ''yourmedway'' * ''yourshepway'' * ''yourswale'' * ''yourthanet''

2009 launches

* ''yourdeal'' * ''yoursandwich'' * ''your Tunbridge Wells''

Magazines

KOS Media publishes magazines accompanying its paid for papers, such as the "Kent Weekend" entertainment and leisure guide. It also publishes ''Isle Magazine'' (published quarterly for the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in anc ...

); and ''BBC Radio Kent County Life'' for the BBC. This caused a complaint against KOS Media and the BBC by rival group the

KM Group KM Media Group is a multimedia company in the county of Kent, England which originated as the publisher of the Kent Messenger. The Group now produces local newspapers, radio stations and websites throughout the county. Iliffe Media acquired KM ...

Television

KOS Media operates the YourKentTV internet television channel. The channel features local news and sport, and videos both sent in by viewers and provided by the company.

References

External links

KentNews, the KOS Media's flagship site, closed November 2017

YourKentTV
{{Archant Newspaper companies of England Mass media in Kent Mass media companies established in 2002 Companies based in Kent Mass media companies of England 2002 establishments in England