''The Press and Journal'' is a daily regional newspaper serving northern and highland Scotland including the cities of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

. Established in 1747, it is Scotland's oldest daily newspaper, and one of the longest-running newspapers in the world.

History

The newspaper was first published as a weekly title, ''Aberdeen's Journal'', on 29 December 1747. In 1748 it changed its name to the ''Aberdeen Journal''. It was published on a weekly basis for 128 years until August 1876, when it became a daily newspaper. The newspaper was owned by the Chalmers family throughout the nineteenth century, and edited by members of the family until 1849, when William Forsyth became editor. Its political position was

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

. In November 1922, the paper was renamed ''The Aberdeen Press and Journal'' when its parent firm joined forces with the ''Free Press''. Historical copies of the ''Aberdeen Journal'', dating back to 1798, are available to search and view in digitised form at The

British Newspaper Archive The British Newspaper Archive web site provides access to searchable digitized archives of British and Irish newspapers. It was launched in November 2011. History The British Library Newspapers section was based in Colindale in north London, u ...

. Ethel Simpson, pioneering female journalist, was the first women junior reporter at ''The Press and Journal'', and was also one of the first female chief reporters.

Editors

Present-day situation

The newspaper is printed six days a week and there are six geographic editions every day (seven prior to June 2011). Although for many years a

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

, since 2012, ''The Press and Journal'' has been in compact size. The newspaper is occasionally criticised for its regional perspective on global events, but the paper defends this stance, occasionally running "proud to be local" advertisements. It is sometimes nicknamed the ''Parochial and Journal'' for its local news focus. Just one week after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

in 2001 the paper's World News section totalled just a single half-page. The head office of the paper is located in

Mastrick Mastrick ( gd, Mastraig) is an area of Aberdeen, Scotland, located on the western fringes of the city around 2.5 miles from the city centre. It currently has a population of 7,365 and an unemployment rate of 1.6%. Residential property in the are ...

, Aberdeen, and as of March 2012 employed 470 staff locally and at branch offices throughout the North of Scotland. The current editor of the newspaper is Richard Neville, who replaced former editor Damian Bates in 2017. The paper, along with the '' Evening Express'', ''Aberdeen Citizen'' and '' Scot-Ads,'' is published by

Aberdeen Journals Aberdeen Journals Ltd. is a newspaper publisher based in Aberdeen, Scotland. The company publishes the '' Press and Journal'', the '' Evening Express'', the '' Aberdeen Citizen'' and ''Scot-Ads'' newspapers. It was owned by Northcliffe Newspa ...

Ltd. It has a circulation of 39,502 copies, making it the most-read and best-selling former broadsheet newspaper in Scotland. Its circulation is greater than that of the ''Herald'' and the ''Scotsman'' combined.Aberdeen – Press & Journal – All Editions (Mon-Sat) Standard Certificate of Circulation, 2 January 2006 to 2 July 2006
Audit Bureau of Circulations Aberdeen Journals Ltd is now owned by the Dundee-based D. C. Thomson media group, after being sold by the

Daily Mail and General Trust Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) is a British multinational media company, the owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and several other titles. The 4th Viscount Rothermere is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the company. The head office is ...

in 2006. ''The Press and Journal'', the ''Evening Express'', ''Aberdeen Citizen'' and ''Scot-Ads'' were all printed on ''Aberdeen Journals'' own printing presses in Aberdeen until May 2013. All titles are now printed in Dundee. Until March 2006 the ''News of the World'' was also printed on the Aberdeen press.

Coverage of Trump International Golf Links Development

The ''Press and Journal'' was a staunch supporter of the building of a highly controversial golf resort by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

at the

Menie Estate Balmedie ( gd, Baile Mheadhain) is a large village in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies north of the city of Aberdeen, in the civil parish of Belhelvie. The long and wide beach is bordered by an extensive dune system that stretches from Aber ...

Balmedie Balmedie ( gd, Baile Mheadhain) is a large village in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies north of the city of Aberdeen, in the civil parish of Belhelvie. The long and wide beach is bordered by an extensive dune system that stretches from Aber ...

, Aberdeenshire. The development was against the wishes of many local residents, and on an area designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. In 2007, the Aberdeen '' Evening Express'' ran pictures of seven councillors who voted against the application under the headline "You Traitors". In 2009, the newspaper announced it would not report anything said by the protest group "Tripping Up Trump", saying it was not "bona fide". In contrast, opponents complained, the DC Thomson papers in Aberdeen, the ''Evening Express'' and the ''Press and Journal'' gave a large amount of positive press to Donald Trump and the real estate development. In 2013, ''Press and Journal'' editor Damian Bates married Sarah Malone, then executive vice president and press spokeswoman for the Trump International project.

References

Bibliography

External links

The Press and Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Press and Journal Mass media in Aberdeen Newspapers published in Scotland Organisations based in Aberdeen Publications established in 1748 Newspapers with Scottish Gaelic content Scottish brands 1748 establishments in Scotland