Craven Herald & Pioneer
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| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format |
Broadsheet until 29 October 2009 Tabloid from 5 November 2009 |
| Owner(s) | Newsquest |
| Publisher | Newsquest Bradford |
| Editor | Andrew Hitchon |
| Founded | 1853 |
| Headquarters | Skipton, North Yorkshire |
| Circulation | 11,498 |
| Website | http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/ |
The Craven Herald & Pioneer is a weekly newspaper covering the Craven area of North Yorkshire as well as part of the Pendle area of Lancashire. Until 29 October 2009 it remained one of only two weekly papers in the United Kingdom that continued to have a front page consisting wholly of advertisements. On 22 October 2009 it was announced that the edition on 29 October 2009 would be the last broadsheet edition with adverts on the front cover. From 5 November 2009 the format was changed to a tabloid size, or compact as the then-editor described it, with news on page one and the adverts moved to page two.
There have been several newspapers covering the Craven area. The Craven Herald was first published in 1853, in Skipton, by Robert Tasker, a local printer. Originally a monthly publication, it ran until 1868 when Tasker became postmaster of Skipton and, as such, was debarred from publishing a newspaper.
In 1865 the Craven Weekly Pioneer and General Advertiser for West Yorkshire and East Lancashire was launched. This was a paper of very liberal leanings being an enthusiastic supporter of William Ewart Gladstone. In response the local Conservatives bought Tasker's firm and in 1875 re-launched the Craven Herald.
Both papers continued to publish separately and both underwent name changes at various times. The Craven Herald changed its name to the Craven Herald and Wensleydale Standard in 1868 before reverting to the Craven Herald in 1922. Meanwhile the Pioneer became the West Yorkshire Pioneer and East Lancashire News in 1884 and the West Yorkshire Pioneer in 1934. The two rivals merged in 1937 to form the Craven Herald & Pioneer.
The Craven Herald was an early user of photographs in the paper. The first example, of a society wedding, appeared in 1905.
In 1987, financial pressures forced the owners of the paper to sell to Westminster Press, the publishers of the Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Westminster Press itself was sold to Newsquest in 1996.
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