The post you are reporting:
As an avid reader of local newspapers wherever I have lived, I have been interested to see a couple of facts and figures about Dover's journals.
Firstly, I noticed a few weeks ago that the cover price of the Dover Express went up by 5p to 65p and at the beginning of September the Mercury followed suit, also increasing by 5p to 85p. How long before we have a £1 local paper, I wonder?
Then I was interested to read in this week's Mercury that the latest circulation figures issued by the Audit Bureau of Circulation have revealed that the Dover Express sold 6,719 copies a week on average from January to June this year, while the Mercury (East Kent Mercury and Dover Mercury combined) sold 10,635. As both papers cover Dover, Deal and Sandwich (the Express with one edition and the Mercury with two) I presume these are a fair comparison.
I am reliably informed by someone who has lived in Dover longer than I have, that at one stage the Express was selling 20,000 copies, so that's quite a drop over the years.
It makes you wonder what the future is for local newspapers, with the increase in the use and popularity of the internet and facilities such as the Dover Forum. While the Forum has its part to play in local news coverage and debates, it doesn't replace the printed word (and picture). Both papers have their own websites, of course, and perhaps that's the way they see things going.
It would be a sad day, I think, if local papers ceased to exist - they have been a valued part of the community for many years, and I hope they will continue for many years to come.