The future of newspaper, The Shetland Times, has been left uncertain after the company has been put up for sale.
The Shetland Times, which was established in 1872, is the most northerly newspaper in the UK and Shetland’s only weekly newspaper. It is also the first weekly newspaper in Scotland to go online, doing so in March 1996. The family of current co-owner and director of the newspaper, Robert Wishart, has been part of the company since 1894.
Last week, staff at Shetland Times were told by Wishart that the business was being put up for sale. The newspaper director said to staff that finding new owners to take on the challenges faced by the newspaper industry was the best way forward, while warning that if new owners couldn’t be found, the newspaper would have to close down.
The company also operates its own printing company, STudio Graphic Design and Print, as well as a publishing arm and a bookshop.
The Shetland Times is listed as employing around 35 staff, though there are reports of several staff members leaving the paper in recent months.
Discussing the sale in a self-published article, Shetland Times spoke about how recent years have been tough on the newspaper industry as a whole, citing the rise of social media and “a presumption that news should be provided for free online” causing sales of paid-for print publications to plummet.
In the article, Shetland Times said: “Despite shifting trends, not everyone prefers to read their news on a mobile phone; some still enjoy taking the time to sit down and read a paper from cover to cover.
“That could all be lost. Recent years have been tough on newspapers everywhere.”
In the editorial piece, the publication goes on to give a plea for support to its readers, saying: “Despite weathering the pandemic, inflation, and changing trends, paper sales and advertising are not what they once were, and it has become increasingly difficult to balance the books.
“The fact is unless people buy the paper and take out adverts, the costs of printing it cannot be justified. So, our appeal to you, our readers, is that you keep supporting the paper. ‘Use it or lose it’ is the message we’ve reported when highlighting the plight of country shops and other struggling businesses. Now, that message applies to The Shetland Times as well.”
A number of UK print newspaper publications have seen serious declines in recent times.
According to research and data agency, ABC, print circulations at UK regional daily newspapers have declined by an average of 16% between 2023 and 2024.
Circulations at The Irish News and Aberdeen’s Press & Journal sank below 20,000 print copies per day, the last two regional UK newspapers still reaching that benchmark. In the same year, The Evening Standard ceased as a daily title.
In contrast, data published in January from audience measurement company, Ipsos iris, suggested that the UK’s largest local news websites grew their audiences compared with a year earlier.
