The Tindle Group is a British multimedia company operating regional newspapers and radio stations across the
British Isles
The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
.
It publishes over 200 local newspapers in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, a number of which are over a hundred years old.
The company is based in
Farnham
Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, under CEO Danny Cammiade.
It is owned by the
Tindle family. Founder Sir
Ray Tindle was a "strong believer in 'ultra-local' journalism",
a culture which the company still follows today. He remained the company's president until his death in 2022. His son, Owen Tindle, took over as chairman in 2017.
Newspapers
The Tindle newspaper empire started out in the 1950s, when Sir Ray Tindle acquired the ''
Tooting & Balham Gazette'' with his £300
demob payment after his time serving during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
At the company's peak, Tindle Newspapers owned and operated more than 220 local titles.
The following is a partial list of newspapers owned by the company:
*''
Abergavenny Chronicle''
*''Admart''
*''Alton Post Gazette''
*''Biggin Hill News''
*''Bordon Messenger''
*''Bordon Post''
*''Brecon & Radnor Express''
*''
Cambrian News''
*''
Chew Valley Gazette''
*''
Cornish & Devon Post''
*''
Cornish Times''
*''County Echo''
*''Crediton Courier''
*''Dawlish Gazette''
*''Edenbridge Chronicle''
*''Faringdon Newspapers''
*''Farnham Herald''
*''The Forester''
*''The Glamorgan Gem''
*''Godalming Messenger''
*''Haslemere Messenger''
*''
Isle of Man Newspapers''
*''Leigh Times''
*''Life Magazines''
*''Meon Valley News''
*''
Mid Devon Advertiser''
*''
Monmouthshire Beacon
The ''Monmouthshire Beacon'' is a weekly tabloid newspaper covering the areas of Monmouthshire, south Herefordshire and western Gloucestershire. It has been in continuous publication since 1837. Since 1980 the newspaper has been part of the ...
''
*''North Cornwall Advertiser''
*''Petersfield Messenger''
*''The Ross Gazette''
*''South Hams Gazette''
*''Surrey & Hants News''
*''
Tavistock Times''
*''
Tenby Observer''
*''
Wellington Weekly News''
*''West Somerset Free Press''
*''
Woking News and Mail''
In 2019, Tindle Newspaper Group closed four of their local newspapers.
Radio stations
In the 1970s, Sir Ray Tindle was an early investor in
Capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
. In 1998, he sold back his shares in the company to buy
Island FM in Guernsey, the first local station to form part of the Tindle group.
The company continued to grow and acquire a dozen stations in England and Wales. Tindle sold its UK radio assets to
Anglian Radio in a management buyout in 2013. The stations were then sold on to
Celador and later
Bauer.
Tindle continues to own and operate Island FM, as well as
Channel 103 in Jersey,
Midlands 103 in Ireland, and
Soleil Radio which broadcasts across the Channel Islands.
Criticism
In 2003, as the
Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
started, the owner of the Tindle Newspaper Group, Sir Ray Tindle, issued an order to his newspapers that they could no longer cover anti-war protests. This decision was controversial and was attacked as censorship by a number of commentators, including the
National Union of Journalists
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union supporting journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The NUJ was founded in 1907 and has 20,693 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Trades ...
General Secretary
Jeremy Dear.
Too Late For Debate?
/ref>
References
External links
Official website
Newspaper companies of the United Kingdom
Companies based in Surrey
1950 establishments in England
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