OBSERVER, FRIDAY 7th MAY 2010 TO ADVERTISE, ’PHONE TENBY (01834) 843262, FAX 844774 19

AN OBSERVER ADVERTISING FEATURE

To Our Readers and Advertisers

A message from our proprietor, Sir Ray Tindle CBE
The Tenby Observer
newspaper prides itself
on its strong efforts to
maintain very close
links with the communi-
ty it serves, and on the

Special
supplement
A brief look at the Observer fact that it is still a fam-
ily-owned independent
newspaper after years of
The story of the Tenby and its neighbourhood. Led by Arthur Ormond,
Observer - Pembrokeshire’s they produced - on time - a existence.
Local Newspaper PRESS FREEDOM splendid issue on March 17
Week 2010 (May 10- oldest newspaper and a pio- We try to tell without
neer of press freedom - has BATTLE of that year, as they have bias the news of all that
16) begins in just three done every week since.
been a long and colourful
days’ time. one... sometimes even con- Since that time, the Thus the paper never is happening in the area.
The theme for this tentious. Observer has been pub- missed an issue. The Please tell us what more
year’s week is Your On August 13, 1853, lished continuously, but not Observer returned to prof-
Voice, with a focus on we can do to complete
Richard Mason produced without incident. It has itability after Ray Tindle
the importance of inde- changed the editorial cover- our coverage.
the first issue of the paper fought several traumatic
pendent local journal- under the title of The Tenby battles. Most notable was its age area, concentrating on This is Local
ism, relevant to readers’ Observer and List of famous fight for press free- strictly local community Newspaper Week and
lives and trusted by Visitors. He had, in fact, dom, a protracted legal bat- news. The paper has now
local communities to therefore an opportunity
printed a single sheet of tle which eventually result- been viable for the past 32
hold public bodies to foolscap folio size (13 inch- ed in the Admission of the years (even launching the to thank you, our read-
account. es by eight inches) in the Press to Meetings Act being Tenby Times in 2000!). ers and advertisers, for
By taking part in the previous week (August 7) placed on the Statute Book Sir Ray was knighted by your support. We do our
week, which celebrates under the title The Tenby in 1908. HRH the Prince of Wales
its 13th year this year, for his services to the news-
best to repay it through
List of Visitors.
local newspapers raise This was no more than the CRISIS paper industry. Since taking our columns each week.
awareness of the name implied, for it con- the reins of the Observer on Tell us of forthcoming
strengths of the medium tained only the names of the Perhaps the worst crisis its resuscitation in 1978, he events we may not have
among readers, adver- people visiting the town, the Tenby Observer faced has seen the paper go from
tisers and the wider strength to strength, in fact, mentioned. Send us a
together with a few adver- was then it announced its
media industry. tisements, mainly of books own closure over 30 years to such an excellent extent report of any event we
This special supple- on sale in Mason’s shop in ago in March 1978. that, together with its sister may not have covered.
ment tells something of High Street (the premises The decision to close had paper the Narberth and We’ll try our best to
our own history and occupied more recently by only been made after a long Whitland Observer (estab-
highlights how we are lished 1906), circulation has include your notes of
the now closed struggle to obtain supplies
‘your voice’ in the local Woolworths’ store). of newsprint, ink, plates and now more than doubled such occasions, particu-
community, informing No local news appeared in all the many weekly from 3,700 to around 8,000 larly if you include men-
readers of the news and this preliminary sheet. It requirements of a newspa- copies per week - a rare
phenomenon these days!
tion of as many partici-
events taking place was not until the following per. Cash had run out and
within our circulation week that Richard Mason the then current sharehold-
pants as possible.
area. seems to have conceived the ers in 1978 were unable to LATEST We are at your service.
Thank you to every- idea of a local newspaper meet the proper demands of TECHNOLOGY
one for supporting us and so, on August 13, 1853, the creditors.
and we hope you find it he gave his creation a name News of its death The Observer currently
of interest. - one that has now become a appeared in the Daily employs 15 staff (some
household name in Tenby Telegraph and that is when part-time) in its various
Ray Tindle first became departments - editorial,
aware of its plight. advertising, type-setting,
production and accounts.
TENBY A.F.C. After a quick call to the
Receivers, who said that
Arthur Ormond and some of
They use the latest comput-
er technology to produce
the paper, which is now
are pleased to support the his colleagues were still
there clearing up, Sir Ray printed by NWN Media Ltd.
came to Tenby and asked at Deeside, North Wales.
Tenby Observer the remaining staff, includ- The Narberth
Whitland Observer, as the
and
ing Neil Dickinson, today’s
during title suggests, covers neigh-
Editor, and John Smith, if
bouring communities.
they would like to have
Local Newspaper Week another try at keeping the
LAUNCH OF
paper going if he were to TENBY TIMES
buy it that day. They at
We are sincerely grateful to once, to a man, volunteered October 2000 saw the
to bring it out that same
The Observer week, even though their
launch of the Tenby Times
by the Observer. The Times
numbers were well down on is Tenby’s only free news-
for their support throughout the year the normal complement, paper, and has proved a
and wish them continued success and they only had a little great success, as has the
over two days in which to Tenby Times Annual, which
do a week’s work. has been produced for the
last four years.
During the summer
months, the Observer also
Heywood Lane publishes a popular Holiday
Guide, which is not only
Dinbych-y-pysgod inserted into the paper on
bank holidays, but is distrib-
Sir Benfro uted to all major tourist out-
lets, including information
SA70 8BN centres, leisure parks, cara-
van sites, hotels, public
Tel: 01834 840100 houses etc.

ONE OF THE FEW

The Tenby Observer is

We would like to thank the Tenby Observer proud of having served the
community for 157 years
and Narberth & Whitland Observer and it is proud of being one
of the very few remaining
for including news items from Greenhill family-owned independent
papers.