The Liverpool Echo has this week launched its first new ‘geographical’ localised edition in over a decade.
The Wirral edition aims to offer increased local news coverage for the borough’s 300,000 plus residents within the established daily title with all the rest of the news, sports and features from across Merseyside.
Two new reporters have been taken on to support the increased Wirral coverage.
The edition will carry changed front and back pages plus two inside editorial pages four days a week. Eight additional pages will be added to the edition on Thursday to deliver increased editorial and advertising and up to 24 pages will be added on Friday.
Echo editor Alastair Machray said: “The Echo is Merseyside’s best-selling newspaper and we’ve been proud to serve this region for over 130 years.
“But we recognise that Wirral is changing and we need to change with it.
“As a destination for tourists, a base for businesses and a home for families, Wirral is getting better and getting stronger.
“We see this as an opportunity so we’re producing this new edition of the Echo to reflect the change.
“Many Wirral residents and advertisers were keen to have their own edition. But we also recognise many others have moved across the water from Liverpool and buy the Echo primarily for news and sport from their home city.”
The Wirral investment has been in planning for several months and is one of a series of major new developments to the title said Trinity. Other developments include the creation of a new Saturday Extra magazine and investment in a new EchoLive rolling blog on its ‘companion website’.