Portadown News
|
Type of site
|
Online satirical newspaper |
|---|---|
| Created by | Newton Emerson |
| Website | PortadownNews.com |
| Alexa rank |
 20,596,207 (November 2013[update]) |
| Commercial | No |
| Launched | 2001 |
| Current status | No longer updated |
The Portadown News was a satirical web-based newspaper dealing with Northern Irish politics and culture. It was written (initially anonymously) by journalist and political commentator Newton Emerson, a Portadown resident. Its format and style were similar to The Onion.
The site was updated biweekly, with the first issue appearing in March 2001. In November 2001 Freeserve dropped the site after receiving complaints. The next month Emerson was forced to leave his job with a Belfast telecommunications company after the republican Andersonstown News named him as the website's editor. The newspaper accused Emerson of unionist bias. Emerson had written anonymously out of fear of reprisals but suffered no consequences from being outed beyond receiving occasional email threats.
The site's "reporters" included loyalist Billy Shootspatrick, republican Anne Phoblacht and unionist Will March. There were also contributions by Portadown residents, including Tyler McSpide.
The website resulted in a weekend spin-off newspaper column in the Sunday World, and a bestselling book. Emerson has also written for the Irish Times, the Irish News and the Irish edition of The Daily Mirror. In 2005 Emerson stopped writing the Portadown News in order to write a column for The Mirror, but the site remains online.
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