The outlet has announced on its front page today that it will cease operations next week.<\/p>\n
The next issue of the newspaper will be its last, as The Northern Standard will print the final edition on Thursday, December 18.<\/p>\n
The Northern Standard was established in 1839 and has been circulating in Monaghan, Cavan, Armagh, Louth and Fermanagh.<\/p>\n
It has been published every Thursday morning, covering local news, sports and entertainment from counties Monaghan, Cavan, Louth, Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone for 186 years.<\/p>\n
Currently owned by the Smyth family, it is the longest-established and largest regional newspaper circulating in Co Monaghan, with its first issue published on January 10, 1839.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the paper said the decision behind ceasing publication is due to a \u201csteady decline in readership and advertising in recent years\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is with great sadness that the management of The Northern Standard Ltd announces that the final edition of the newspaper to be published in 2025, on December 18 next, will also be our last,\u201d they said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cA decision to close the newspaper has been taken, and the appropriate procedures are now experiencing a steady decline in readership and advertising in recent years.<\/p>\n
“As the consumption of news has increasingly shifted to online media, print newspapers have struggled to compete with digital platforms and social media outlets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenging circumstances created by this radically altered and irreversible commercial environment have seen The Northern Standard struggle to sustain its long-term viability.<\/p>\n
“The point has been reached where the regrettable decision to cease publication has been taken,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n
They also thanked \u201call those who have contributed to the publication\u201d over the years, adding they are \u201cdeeply thankful to their readership who, each week, afforded them the cherished privilege of admitting them into their homes\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have always endeavoured to repay the support of our advertisers and readers with the highest possible quality of service. We have been successful in that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
A photographer for the newspaper, Rory Geary, said it is \u201cdisappointing\u201d and the newspaper \u201cwill be a big miss to the community of Monaghan\u201d.<\/p>\n
Former reporter with The Northern Standard Michael Fisher said local journalism is \u201cimportant and I hope it will be supported for many years to come\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was with great sadness I saw the official announcement that The Northern Standard in Monaghan is to cease publication next week after nearly two centuries of commitment to public service and local democracy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving worked for the paper for seven years, the last few as a staff member, I got to experience what it meant to the county.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Standard was one of the last few family-owned weekly newspapers to survive in the digital era. The role of the late Paddy Smyth since 1971 and his family including the late Anne Smyth in bringing the weekly news to the people of the county and surrounding areas should be widely acknowledged.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in an era when most people especially the younger generation get their news online via their mobile phone whenever they want.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us hope however that a way will be found to continue to examine news about Monaghan. <\/p>\n
\u201cFinally let us hope the archives of the Standard over its 186 years of publication will provide a valuable source for future historians writing about County Monaghan, in particular the many pictures that were such an important part of the paper’s success.\u201d<\/p>\n
The National Union of Journalists said it was \u201cgravely disappointed\u201d by the news.<\/p>\n
S\u00e9amus Dooley, Irish Secretary, said: “This is a blow to journalism and to county Monaghan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is regrettable that the decision has been taken to cease printing and publishing one of the best know regional titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would have been preferable that the proprietors sought external investment or considered an initiative such as a community cooperative, if they did not wish to sell to an existing group.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Standard has been part of the landscape of Co Monaghan since its foundation. Staff have contributed enormously to its continuation and it is regrettable that only statutory redundancy appears to be available. “<\/p>\n
“There is a worrying lack of diversity in the Irish regional newspaper market. Community and locally based newspapers are badly needed and the concentration of ownership in the hands of a few companies is a major concern for employment and for media plurality.”<\/p>\n
The Northern Standard has been asked for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The outlet has announced on its front page today that it will cease operations next week. The next…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2540,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-187396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-adrianna-wrona","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}