Black Country Bugle
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Black Country Bugle'' is a paid-for weekly publication, which highlights the industrial heritage, history, legends, local humour and readers' stories pertaining to the
Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...
region, which forms the western half of the
West Midlands conurbation The West Midlands conurbation is the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the towns of Sutton Coldfield, Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge and Halesowen in the English West Midlands ...
of England.


History

The paper was established in 1972 in
Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...
, by the founding editor Harry Taylor, and his co-partners Derek Beasley and David James. The trio had previously worked together on a free local paper, with Taylor editing the paper and writing the majority of the editorial, and Beasley and James selling adverts, as was the case in the early years of the ''Black Country Bugle''. Taylor wrote in the launch issue in April 1972, "The Bugle will show you fascinating glimpses of our region's history, bring to vivid life its legendary characters, trace its antiquity and your ancestry over the centuries". The ''Black Country Bugle'' moved its headquarters from Halesowen to Amblecote in 1983, and then in 1989 to High Street, Cradley Heath. In April 2015, the title moved to new offices within the Dudley Archives and Local History Centre on Tipton Road in Dudley. The publication, initially produced on a monthly basis, became a weekly in 1998, and in 2001 became part of Staffordshire Newspapers. Since 2012 the title has been part of
Local World Local World Holdings Ltd. was a large regional newspaper publisher in the UK that published around 100 print titles and more than 70 websites. It was formed in 2012 by David Montgomery, a former chief executive of Trinity Mirror, to buy the Dai ...
. Rob Taylor, the son of Harry Taylor, the founder of the ''Bugle'', took over as editor in 1993. The 1000th edition of the paper was published in October 2011. In 2012, Local World acquired owner Iliffe News & Media from
Yattendon Group Yattendon Group plc (formerly Yattendon Investment Trust) is a British-based private company owned by the Iliffe family. It has interests in Vancouver, Seattle, agriculture, marinas and local newspaper printing and publishing. Property Yattendo ...
. In April 2013, John Butterworth MBE was appointed editor of the publication. Gary Phelps became editor-in-chief in July 2016. Charlotte Hart became executive editor in May 2018.


Format and appearance

The paper is printed in a tabloid format, and since January 2012 has been printed in full colour on an improved quality paper stock, though the nostalgic nature of its content means that many of the photographs supplied are black and white.


Content

Although the paper concentrates on the Black Country of former years, focusing on the local history and culture of the region, a certain amount of up-to-date local news is included. Amongst other things, the paper features photographs sent in by the public, curious objects brought into the Bugle office, short stories, anecdotes of olden days, historical essays, and letters and appeals from people researching their family trees. It often features articles and poems written in the
Black Country dialect The Black Country dialect is spoken by many people in the Black Country, a region covering most of the four Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. It also influences the accents of towns and villages in the rural c ...
. A typical edition of the ''Bugle'' would have 2 or 3 photographs on the front cover contributed by readers, with some accompanying text.


Staff


Editorial

Executive Editor *Charlotte Hart Writers *Gavin Jones *John Workman *Dan Shaw


Regular columnists

Regular writers for the ''Bugle'' include: Gail Middleton, and Tony Matthews, who writes the history of the Black Country derbies. Dave Green contributes illustrations each week. Bugle Articles dated 1978-2012


References


External links


Website
{{Local World Newspapers published in the West Midlands (county) Newspapers established in 1972 1972 establishments in England Black Country