''The Inverness Courier'' is a local, bi-weekly newspaper, published each Tuesday and Friday in
Inverness
Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...
, Scotland.
It reports on issues in Inverness and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. It is the longest, continually running local newspaper covering the area.
History
The first issue of ''The Inverness Courier and General Advertiser for the Counties of Inverness, Ross, Moray, Nairn, Cromarty, Sutherland and Caithness'' appeared on 4 Dec 1817. The first editors were Mr. John and Mrs. Johnstone until 1824. Mrs. Christian Isobel Johnstone produced the widely acclaimed ''Meg Dod’s Cookery Book''.
Dr. Robert Carruthers was editor from April 1828 until his death in 1878, when his son Walter Carruthers took over until his death in 1885. He was succeeded by James Barron. Walter Carruthers and James Barron were co-founders of
Inverness Field Club in 1875. In Feb. 1919, Dr. Evan Macleod Barron became editor, who was the author of ''The Scottish War of Independence''. His niece Eveline Barron became deputy editor in 1952, succeeding him as editor in April 1965.
There is no current editor since David Bourn left to edit an English regional daily. A content editor serves several HNM Group titles, including the Courier.
The Rev. Alexander Stewart (1829–1901), Minister of Ballachulish & Corran of Ardgour Parish contributed for more than four decades, under the pen-name Nether Lochaber, a more-or-less fortnightly column to the ''Inverness Courier''. This resulted in two publications: ''Nether Lochaber: The Natural History, Legends and Folk-lore of the West Highlands'' (1883) and Twixt Ben Nevis and Glencoe: The Natural History, Legends, and Folk-lore of the West Highlands'' (1885).
In May 1933, ''The Inverness Courier'' published the first report of the
Loch Ness monster
The Loch Ness Monster (), known affectionately as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protrud ...
. A Courier correspondent, Alexander Campbell, had told of the strange sighting to then editor Evan Barron, who is said to have replied that it must be a monster.
Today
''The Inverness Courier'' is published by
Scottish Provincial Press,
which publishes several weekly newspapers in the
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...
council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot)
A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Ac ...
of
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
.
In 2014, ''The Inverness Courier'' was named the Highlands and Islands newspaper of the year.
Due to a massive drop in circulation, this newspaper has had to move from its Longman headquarters, downsize and relocate to offices in Bank Street, Inverness.
References
External links
''The Hub of the Highlands: The Book of Inverness and District. The Centenary Volume of Inverness Field Club 1875–1975'', Inverness Field Club 1975.
Ross, Donald, 'Nether Lochaber: Memories of a Well-known Highlander', The Inverness Courier, no. 11943 (20 Jan., 1961), p. 3
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inverness Courier
Newspapers published in Scotland
Mass media in Argyll and Bute
Mass media in Highland (council area)
Mass media in the Outer Hebrides
Newspapers with Scottish Gaelic content
Publications established in 1817
1817 establishments in Scotland