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Andy Mansell’s
Look at the entertainment world
ISSUE 072 - Friday 30th November 2018 South Alicante & Murcia
Your Weekend Starts Here!
Stars In My Eyes
PAGES: 26-27
END OF AN ERA
One of Spain’s longestrunning English weekly newspapers, the Round Town News, has ceased to be published, after being bought less than two years ago by the Euro Weekly publishers Michel and Steven Euesden. This week’s shock closure came with a website announcement from Steven Euesden and a photo of him holding a glass of champagne stating that “advertisers and readers have told us that they want the Euro Weekly News”, and “consequently the EWN Media Group has decided to put their resources into that
by Alex Trelinski
publication.” The Round Town News, better known to most people as the RTN, was established by Geoff Gartland in the late nineties and was an innovative paper with popular columnists, as well eye-catching designs and an extensive use of colour, which was ahead of the pack. The RTN was also never afraid to dig to find the truth behind stories thanks to the staff who had a track record in journalism, including the muchmissed Louise Clarke. The paper was bought by the
Euro Weekly Group in February 2017, who at the time described the RTN as a “respected voice which reaches the very heart of the community” and “a highly trusted name in Spain”. Geoff Gartland’s son, Danny Wilkinson, who used to be the RTN’s managing and production director said:- This is very sad for everybody connected to the original RTN. Unfortunately, the new version of the RTN was never going to be the same as the original”. An employee at the RTN revealed: “We’re not printing it any more. I only found out yesterday. It comes after we lost
a large number of clients over the Christmas period. It’s very sad that a newspaper that has been going so long has come to this end.” Meanwhile, a client, who has used the RTN for a year, said: “It is incredibly sad that it has been allowed to collapse in this way. It was once a very popular paper, with a loyal following, but that has changed massively over the last couple of years.” In early 2017, the EWN also bought the Sol Times, which after a few months ceased publication in the Costa Blanca, and it’s closure in the south of Spain came in parallel with the RTN announcement.