South Wales Echo. History of a Welsh paper with its own tabloid vision

photo: National Library of Wales/public domain/Wikimedia and walesonline.co.uk

At the end of the 19th century, Wales was part of the British Kingdom under Queen Victoria. One of its major problems at the time was mining disasters. In 1880 alone, a series of tragic accidents killed over 200 people, and almost every month brought some death underground. The London press remained silent or published brief notes. Cardiff authorities, the main city in the region, decided to change this. A local weekly newspaper South Wales Echo was established, with the first issue published on 6 November 1880. This important task was entrusted to the publishing house David Duncan & Sons.

David Duncan had owned the Cardiff Times and South Wales News since 1857. In 1876, together with his son, also named David, and brothers John and Alexander, he founded a publishing house, and four years later began printing the Echo. The younger Duncan took on the task of running the editorial office.

As was typical for media at the time, the front page featured advertisements, and current content started on page 2. Here, in the editorial article titled The proprietors to the public, the aims and principles of the new publication were outlined:

• founded not for commercial reasons, but at the request of the public
• will be representative and impartial
• everything published will be based on facts and sound arguments
• editorial opinions of "South Wales Echo" will be presented in good faith, and local actions will be criticized without fear, favor or affection
• neither systems nor bribes will cause (the proprietors) to act unjustly toward anyone

At the end, it read: It is up to public opinion to practically decide whether our professionals deserve support and whether they honestly deliver what readers desired. Your verdict: we stay or fall.

The entire issue had four pages and was almost entirely focused on the Cardiff region: municipal elections, the capital’s hospital, agriculture, police reports, and coverage of various interest group meetings. There were also news from London (London Letter), global reports from Reuters, sports news, a women’s column and a novel excerpt.


The paper quickly captured the hearts of local residents, and a year later it had 6-8 pages. It was published on Saturdays and included news from the entire week. Illustrations also appeared, though initially only in advertisements.

The weekly was spacious and clear, with texts in five columns separated by vertical lines and distinct headlines. Although the Welsh have their own language, the Echo was printed in English. Over the years, it remained true to its promises to readers.

South Wales Echo becomes a daily newspaper

The first major changes in the Echo came in 1884, when David Duncan transformed the weekly into a daily paper, officially recognized as a regional newspaper with full rights. According to German Wikipedia, this happened on 1 January 1884, but based on existing numbering, the first issue as a daily appeared around 13 October. Since archival issues from 1882-1884 (October) are missing, 1884 is considered the birth year of the South Wales Echo daily.

On the front page of each issue from 2 January 1885, among many ads, readers found the following notice:

• the paper is an afternoon edition
• it has three daily editions: the first at 2:00 PM, the second at 4:00 PM, and a special edition at 6:00 PM
• each edition contains 28 columns, i.e., 4 pages
• each edition costs half a penny
• the daily includes:
  
  • world news
  • court news
  • regional updates
  • city council meeting reports
  • sports coverage
  • business and economic news
  • school news
• the special edition includes:
  
  • short stories
  • political, literary, and artistic texts
  • music and theater reviews
  • reports from London
  • facts and fancies
  • echoes of public opinion

In all three editions, the news and main texts were mostly the same, and the paper’s main role was to report what was happening locally, especially in the regional economy. The newspaper covered South Wales, Monmouthshire, and Herefordshire, and its main publisher and distributor was Duncan & Sons.

On 17 January 1885, a new column appeared in the paper: Jottings Around Town by our special artist. It was a humorous take on current events in Cardiff, adorned with caricatures and satirical drawings. It became a hit in all three Saturday editions, signed by Jan O’Brenton. Beside it appeared a second satire section, Yankee Yarns, a collection of jokes about Americans.

The regular sports column was Sporting Notes, written by George Frederick. As expected in Wales, cricket, rugby, and horse racing dominated, though football matches were also well covered. Comments, scores, and match reports were published throughout the week in every edition. London Letter and editorial commentaries South Wales Notes continued to appear.

On 4 February 1885, alongside satirical sketches, the first portrait was printed. A likeness of O’Donovan Rossa, an American steamship agent, accompanied an article about an assassination attempt on his life in New York, allegedly carried out by British agents. From then on, portraits of notable figures occasionally appeared in the Echo, and on 7 November 1894, a drawing of a painting by H. Ronner was published to showcase women’s art collected at the 12th exhibition of the Institute of Oil Painting.

Commercial success. No room left for ads

Month by month, the growing number of advertisements had to be reorganized, as they no longer fit on the front page. They were shortened into brief notes and arranged alphabetically into sections. By the end of the century, the front page of the Echo resembled a dictionary or encyclopedia page.

Despite this, as the paper entered a new century, it still looked much like it had twenty years earlier. It featured consistent topics in regular columns such as the editorial column titled The Man About Town or the satire section Yankee Yarns. There were more news reports related to the region. New features included a weather corner and an American section with reports from its own correspondent. Religious issues were openly discussed. In September 1890, a debate emerged in the Echo about Jewish matters, particularly the circumcision of young boys. The chief secretary of the Cardiff synagogue, Isaac Tumpowsky, responded to accusations made by Welsh society.

The Christian revival known as the Welsh Awakening occurred in 1904-1905. All contemporary newspapers, including the South Wales Echo, were full of reports from meetings, commentaries, and opinions. Various Christian denominations fought for their rights.


David Duncan, who was active in various city institutions, personally wrote reports from meetings, whether at the town hall or the port. He was known for his exceptional perceptiveness combined with quick decision-making and the fact that he did not suffer fools gladly. He cared for his staff, from printers to top journalists. He followed the motto: give people the facts briefly, but make sure they are facts.

After the death of his father in 1888, he managed not only the Echo but the entire publishing house. On his initiative, the Southern Federation of Newspaper Proprietors was founded in 1909, and he served as its president until his death in 1923.

Despite significant competition in the early 20th-century media market, the Echo held its own. Duncan hired young journalism trainees while valuing experienced veterans. His collaboration with various press agencies brought profits and increased readership. Photographs appeared more often in the Echo. The years 1914-1915 went down in the paper`s history for publishing images of men and women who participated in World War I.

This was a media event, as small, provincial newspapers could not afford to print photographs. But Duncan proved that Cardiff wasn’t that provincial after all.

Football Echo. A supplement on pink paper

World War I created a demand for front-line news. As part of the British Crown, Wales sent soldiers to the battlefields - many did not return home. A series of soldiers’ photographs began on 9 November 1914. By the end of July 1915, 2,200 signed photographs had been published, including 31 portraits of women. This tribute to the fallen ended in August 1916.

That same year, Douglas Clark Stephen was hired at the Echo. The 26-year-old journalist already had solid experience. As the son of journalist John T. Stephen, he helped his father in the Press Association. He completed a five-year apprenticeship at the Leicester Mail and then joined the Sporting Chronicle in Manchester. He also briefly worked at the North Star in Darlington. He came to the South Wales Echo full of ideas, especially in the field of sports. On his initiative, in 1919 the first true supplement was created - the Football Echo, nicknamed Pink because it was printed on pink paper. It appeared in two editions on Saturday afternoons right after the final whistle of the last match. Journalists called the newsroom every 15 minutes with match updates. Twenty minutes after the final whistle, the first brief edition hit the streets.

"It had halftime match reports and all the final scores in the late news. Then around 6:45 PM, they released the full edition with complete reports, updated league tables, and people lined up for it", recalled Ken Gorman, a Welsh sports journalist from the Sunday Mirror.

Over time, the supplement was renamed Sport Echo. The last issue was published on 14 January 2006.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the star of Football Echo and the Echo’s sports columns was journalist WJ "John" Hoare, known as Old Stager. His popularity rivaled that of the athletes he covered, and his colorful reports still impress readers today. A milestone in sports journalism and publishing was the front page he prepared for the South Wales Football Echo on 21 December 1935, when Wales defeated New Zealand. The issue, with a photo report, was published 90 minutes after the match ended.

Old Stager’s early years at the Echo coincided with Douglas Stephen`s rise as editor-in-chief. By then, 75-year-old David Duncan had already handed over editorial control to Stephen, who officially took the top job in 1922. A year later, David Duncan passed away, and the business was taken over by his son John.

Market consolidation. Western Mail & Echo

Under Stephen’s leadership, the South Wales Echo expanded in both circulation and prestige. The Welsh market was crowded with newspapers and magazines. While the Echo led the rankings, the same couldn’t be said for its sister paper South Wales Daily News, which lagged behind and suffered losses.

The Duncan family decided to seek a financial partner, especially as the owner of the popular Daily Mail announced plans to enter the Cardiff market. In 1928, a merger was formed with the Western Mail Limited group, combining four papers into two: The South Wales News with The Western Mail and The Evening Express with The South Wales Echo. Two years later, in 1930, the entire company was renamed Western Mail & Echo Ltd.

That same year, the number of Echo editions was reduced. A single daily issue of the South Wales Echo appeared in the afternoon and carried the subtitle Evening Express.

The newspaper’s design also changed. Advertisements disappeared from the front page, replaced by photos of current events. The main title was printed in a simple font, with the subtitle in stylized Gothic. Advertisements in boxes flanked the sides, with the date, issue number, and publication year below. When an issue featured breaking news, a red sun icon with the inscription (issue number) and the word EDITION appeared next to the title.


In 1936, the entire publishing house was bought by James Gomer Berry, Lord Kemsley, who owned Welsh coal mines and was a publisher. This change did not affect the company’s name or the operation of its newspapers.

For the next decade, Stephen ran the newsroom in cooperation with other newspapers from the publishing house. Editors exchanged news, views, and opinions. The major topics of the time included the British economic crisis, two monarchs, and the rise of fascism in Europe. On the local front, the news covered:

• the withdrawal of trams from city streets (1930)
• the opening of the airport (1931)
• Cardiff residents supporting striking miners (1932 and 1935)
• the deaths of 34 South Wales residents who died in the Spanish Civil War (1936)
• a fire at the racecourse, which had hosted events since 1855; the course closed permanently a year later (1937)
• gold medals at the Commonwealth Games

However, on 3 September 1939, dark clouds loomed. Britain declared war on Germany, and by October, the first evacuated children arrived in Wales. On 3 July 1940, Cardiff was bombed for the first time. The next day, the Echo published a report from the city streets and photos of the destroyed hotel.

War and recovery time

The most devastating raid occurred on January 2, 1941. It claimed 156 lives. On January 3, the Echo wrote: Fire bombers’ "Blitz" raid on Cardiff. Further bombings brought more victims up to May 1944, and the Echo reported on all these events. It included updates from the frontlines but also showed that the city was alive and did not give in. And while the small zoo in Victoria Park was closed in 1941, the City Council in 1943 purchased the Glamorganshire Canal. The end of the war was celebrated with great joy, both on the streets and in the newspaper’s pages.

The 1940s in Wales and Cardiff, like elsewhere in the world, ended with a summary of wartime and efforts to rebuild the damaged economy. But readers also wanted news beyond war, and when there were reasons to celebrate, the Echo was there. It reported that Hollywood actor Ray Milland, born in Neath, visited Wales (Echo, November 8, 1946), and that Abel "Papy" Magneron’s restaurant The Big Windsor in Cardiff was famous worldwide (the paper often mentioned this restaurant).

In December 1946, the Echo reported heavy snowfall that thrilled children, but by mid-January 1947, the tone turned grim. Temperatures dropped to -16°C, causing disruptions to food and fuel supplies. The Echo regularly updated readers on city conditions and where to get help.

The 1950s were filled with optimism. Theatres and cinemas thrived, and new sports stadiums were regularly opened. At the Saint Mary Street newsroom, new faces joined the editorial team. Many novice journalists from that time achieved national success. One such figure was John O’Sullivan. He was 14 when he started working in the advertising department in 1949. Upon turning 18, he joined the RAF. After his service, he worked for the Bary Herald editorial office. He returned to the South Wales Echo in 1959. He was both a journalist and photographer. Many of his photographs were featured in the Echo. From 1966-1968, he worked at the Daily Mail as a correspondent for South Wales. During that time, he covered the Aberfan and Torrey Canyon disasters. In 1968, he returned to the Echo, working with many British newspapers and TV stations. After retiring, he continued as a freelance journalist. He passed away on January 1, 2008.

At the same time, Geoff Rich and Brian Lee joined the Echo. Lee began "in the basement" in the printing department, where he spent several years. Passionate about horse racing, when Brian Radford, then head of the sports section, discovered his enthusiasm in 1966, he asked him to write a report on the Welsh horse racing scene. Lee excelled and joined the Echo’s sports section for many years. Today, as a senior journalist, he runs the Nostalgia section, dedicated to remembering moments from the past.

Printers’ strike, Canadian owners and Ken Follett in print

In 1957, the Echo’s "Douglas Clark Stephen era" ended. The respected journalist and long-serving editor-in-chief retired but stayed involved in the publishing house’s management board. Sadly, he passed away on June 4, 1960, leaving behind a well-run, thriving newspaper and many protégés.

June 1959 brought losses to newspapers across Britain. On June 17, printers declared a nationwide strike. Around 1,100 mainly provincial newspapers, including the South Wales Echo, had to suspend publication. The strike lasted six weeks, during which readers received no editions of their beloved paper. Due to the financial losses, Lord Kemsley sold his entire publishing empire, including the Echo and Western Mail. The new owner was the Canadian corporation The Thomson Organisation. That same year, the Echo celebrated its 75th anniversary with a special edition.


The early 1960s brought joy to Echo journalists. Cardiff’s pubs opened on Sundays in 1961, and after 80 years, the newspaper moved to a new headquarters in Thomson House on Havelock Street. The photography section had even more reason to celebrate as it received its own studio, which delighted Gordon Murray. He joined in 1960 as the official press photographer. He had started two years earlier as a darkroom assistant. Demonstrating skill and a sharp eye, he soon joined the team of photojournalists. In 1966, he covered the Aberfan disaster. He pioneered videography and worked at the Echo for 40 years. He died on July 12, 2020.

The 1960s at the Echo were a breeding ground for prominent individuals. During this time, the editorial staff and paper featured:

• Ken Follett, novelist
• Brian J. Ford, author, lecturer, blogger, TV personality
• Susan Lawley, journalist and broadcaster
• Michael Buerk, journalist and presenter

In 1968, Grenfell "Gren" Jones, a graphic artist and cartoonist, joined the paper. His first cartoon appeared in the Birmingham Mail. In 1960, he co-founded the satirical group Knights of the Round Table, later renamed The Barron Knights. Upon joining the Echo, he was tasked with a weekly comic strip Ponty and Pop for the Saturday edition of Football Echo. He quickly moved to the front page of the South Wales Echo. For years, readers followed his characters - Nigel, Neville, and barmaid Bromide Lil - residents of the fictional village Aberflyarff. His strip Big Deal ran for 35 years. Readers admired his work on sports and business themes. Between 1983 and 1987, Gren was named Provincial Cartoonist of the Year four times (a national competition). In 1990, he was awarded an MBE for services to the newspaper industry. He never insulted anyone with his work. He said: I don’t try to prove any points. I try to avoid politics because that’s not my audience. He retired in 1999 but maintained ties with the Echo. He passed away on January 4, 2007.

The 1960s saw television rise in popularity across Wales and the world, dominating the media market. Many newspapers struggled as readers preferred listening to reading. Yet the Echo overcame this challenge, and the 1970s are considered its golden era. The person behind this success was Geoff Rich, who became editor-in-chief in 1971 and held the role for two decades.

The Geoff Rich era and the centenary toy car

Rich began his journey with the paper in 1946 as a copy assistant. He was a teenager, just 15 years old. He worked his way up through every level and never left the Echo. His passion was South Wales and Cardiff, and he dedicated not just his writing but his everyday life to them. He took part in many charity campaigns that echoed in the Echo; Noah’s Ark Appeal for the children’s hospital, Bike with Barnardo’s charity ride, and Echo Latch supporting children’s cancer organisations were just a few.

Rich was an editor open to people and the world. He listened to journalists and readers alike. He led the paper guided by their voices. He built a strong team that supported their editor always and everywhere. He was known for his determination and sense of justice, which was evident in his daily editorial articles. He rejected dubious decisions, whether within editorial quarters or government offices. He expected loyalty and a professional approach from himself and his staff. A memorable moment in editorial history came during a long snowstorm in January 1982. Many journalists called in absent due to the drifts. The editor-in-chief, who lived furthest from the office, walked the entire way, passing his staff’s homes... he arrived late but satisfied with himself and less so with his team.

Rich led the Echo during special moments in Welsh life - from the golden era of rugby, through devolution (1979), Cardiff’s expansion, royal jubilees (1977), Pope John Paul II’s visit (1982), to children’s joys over new schools or even bowling alleys. In 1984, the paper celebrated its centenary with flowers, congratulations, commemorative editions, and exhibitions. London-based LLedo (London) Ltd released a novelty vintage car model representing the 1884 Echo delivery vehicle in Cardiff. The plastic toy featured a centenary label and included miniature newsboys. It became part of the Days Gone collection.

At the turn of the ’70s and ’80s, key editorial figures alongside cartoonist Gren included:

• Dan O’Neill, city journalist and columnist, at the Echo since 1975. He ran the Kardiff Kid column and was described as an absolute one-off. He passed away on September 5, 2020, at the age of 90.
• Stuart Minton, press editor, joined in 1972. He had an incredible journalistic instinct and attention to detail. In the newsroom he... created a family-like environment, full of wit and humour, yet extremely demanding and professional... recalled Media Wales managing director Alan Edmunds. He retired in 2001 and died in January 2015.
• John Billot, sports journalist. He started in the investigative unit under Joe Barry but moved to sports to pursue his love of rugby. He died in 2009.
• Phillip Nifield, political, business, and city journalist. He joined in 1970 and worked for 38 years. He led campaigns on councillor allowances and pension justice for former steelworkers. He later ran his own PR firm.

Geoff Rich wasn’t afraid to bet on the young. He opened all doors for them but set expectations too. Margaret O’reilly joined in 1981 and rotated through all departments. She started as an intern, then wrote gardening columns, moved to business, served as education correspondent for 13 years, and in 2004 became assistant editor.

Rich led the South Wales Echo until December 1990 before retiring. He passed away in January 2007, one week after his friend from the newsroom, cartoonist "Gren" Jones.

Echo becomes a tabloid - and gets its own beer

From January 1, 1991, Pat Pilton took over as editor-in-chief. Pilton didn’t have it easy. Rich had achieved a circulation of over 80,000 copies, but 1990 showed a downward trend. Echo was the best-selling paper in Wales and among the top in the UK. Around this time, the Thomson Group began plans to convert its newspapers into tabloids and rebrand them. The Journal went first.

Pilton was part of the relaunch team charged with transforming all titles. Before drastic changes at the Echo, he made gentle but effective tweaks. The masthead changed - no more black background. South Wales was printed in smaller, script-style text above the bold Echo. More lifestyle and advice topics appeared, attracting a broader female audience.


The Echo became a tabloid two years later under Keith Perch, who succeeded Pilton in 1993. South Wales Echo changed format, got full colour and new sections. It had 40 pages and two supplements: Echo Extra and Weekend Echo.

The real revolution came in 2001, under the ownership of Trinity (since 1995) and editorship of Robin Fletcher (since 1996). In March 2001, the 117-year-old newspaper was reborn:

• red and white title on a large front-page photo
• no articles on the front page, only headlines of key stories
• "ears" (ads beside the title) removed
• clearly organised sections inside
• Saturday editions featured a new entertainment magazine with Fashion, Health & Beauty, and Homes
• Friday editions had new sports sections

Readers liked the new Echo. After a big drop in sales, circulation grew again in July-December to 71,066 copies. The success was toasted with a house-brand beer, launched in December 1996. In 1999, Trinity announced its merger with Mirror Group. The merged company became Trinity Mirror plc.

Everyone - editors and journalists - agrees that Echo’s success lies in prioritising readers and their voices. Letters to the editor were read closely, analysed, and printed since the first issue. During Local Newspaper Week in May 2007, at an editors’ meeting, Keith Perch recalled:

People always liked a good scoop, but when we launched as a tabloid, the headline on page one was a choice between Cardiff hires 200 new teachers or Macabre city murders. The teachers won.

Current editor Robin Fletcher added: If you want to know what Echo is really about, look at the 2000 councillor allowance story, which became a showdown between us and the council. We stood with our readers - and we won. That’s the Echo spirit.

Also at the meeting were two other former editors: Alister Milburn (2002-2004) and Richard Williams (2005-2008). Both had previously been Echo journalists and made their mark by defending their readers with the pen. They prepared the next phase of editorial changes, which readers saw in June 2007. Alongside the new layout, sections, and supplements, the front page bore a new slogan: Echo at the heart of South Wales.

Awards and multimedia

That same year, young athletes and their fans received a gift. On January 25, a free, colourful monthly magazine titled Juniorsport was launched. It featured photos, reports, sports profiles, contests, advice - all produced by the Echo sports team.

2007 was both a busy and successful year for the newspaper and its staff. The editorial team won accolades at the Trinity Mirror Regional Editorial Awards in the following categories:

• daily/Sunday newspaper of the year
• best news pages - daily and Sunday titles
• best features pages - daily and Sunday titles
• best editorial innovation

On April 1, Williams accepted the main award in the regional and local newspaper category at the Media Awards sponsored by the Commission for Racial Equality, and reporter Sian Harris was named Young Journalist of the Year. On October 1, Western Mail and Echo Ltd changed its name to Media Wales.

In 2008, the company moved from Thomson House on Havelock Street to a newly built office building at 6 Park Street, and at the helm of the Echo editorial team was the new editor-in-chief Mike Hill. Before joining the paper in March, Hill led multimedia departments in the regional division of Trinity Mirror newspapers and developed integrated print and digital production. He brought his vision to the Echo. All journalists from different editorial teams worked in a single newsroom, placing more focus on multimedia content. The website WalesOnline.co.uk, launched in 2008, serves four newspapers.

Hill led the Echo until November 2010, introducing many innovations. Being a young person himself, he bet on young talent. The global decline in print newspaper circulation was evident, so the internet became a key tool to reach a broader readership. New entertainment sections, forums, and blogs became standard for every newspaper. Still, Hill fought for the print editions too.


On August 10, 2009, his project went live. He replaced the free newspaper Cardiff Post with a new title, Echo Extra, which closely resembled the parent paper and complemented it. Hill promoted the new product with these words:

Extra, with its fresh design closely tied to the daily title, will include far more news, features, and sport than the Post. We will encourage reader engagement through exclusive stories, columns, contributed pieces, responses to stories and features, and through walesonline.co.uk.

In June 2010, journalism student Sophie Ryley took over Hill’s job for a day - a reward for winning a competition. It gave journalists a chance to glimpse their future successors, and Sophie the chance to see the inner workings of real journalism. The idea was a complete success.

In September 2010, Hill resigned to work at a university. His replacement was Tim Gordon, who had been with the publisher for nearly 25 years. Before leading the Echo, he headed up WalesOnline.co.uk - Wales’s largest commercial news portal - and Wales on Sunday - Wales’s only national Sunday newspaper.

2009 was a survival year for local newspapers. Many titles vanished from the media scene. Hill had defended the Echo, and it was now Gordon’s task to maintain its position. He was given a clear set of goals:

• create a vision and strategy for the South Wales Echo,
• manage budgets,
• act as brand ambassador,
• manage the journalist team,
• collaborate with marketing,
• drive newspaper sales and advertising to increase revenue and meet targets.

The new editor-in-chief approached his role with professionalism and responsibility. He defended the paper’s and colleagues’ reputations - even before state commissions, like the one in 2012 that investigated the Welsh press’s relations with police under the 2005 Inquiry Act on the Culture, Practices, and Ethics of the Press. The inquiry followed news of a hacked phone belonging to a murdered teenager in 2011. Outraged citizens demanded answers. Then-Prime Minister David Cameron ordered a full investigation into press and police misconduct and a review of press regulation.

In Cardiff, both Tim Gordon and Echo investigative journalist Abby Alford testified. Their job was to describe and explain the newspaper’s and their own cooperation with local police over the years. These hearings also sparked wide discussion on press freedom and journalists’ rights.

Controversial click competition

In May 2014, Gordon announced his resignation from both the Echo and the publishing group. Longtime Echo and Wales on Sunday journalist Simon Farrington made the same decision. Their departure preceded the launch of Trinity’s first digital restructuring plan "Newsroom 3.1" rolled out to regional newsrooms from early that year. In July, journalist and Media Wales News editor Catrin Pascoe was appointed editor-in-chief of the South Wales Echo.

Pascoe learned her journalistic craft in Fiji, Cyprus, and Pembrokeshire. She joined Media Wales in 2001. With the Echo team, she also led Daily Content. She was among the women simultaneously appointed to top editorial roles - one of the changes made by the board. Unfortunately, another change involved closing some newsrooms, though not the Echo’s, as Pascoe assured.

For the next two years until February 2016, the Echo under Pascoe kept to its mission, even though not all of management’s ideas were popular with journalists. Some, like the click competition tied to authors’ names, risked job losses in the newsroom.

Pascoe remained calm and carried out her tasks, including another redesign and new supplements. But she was not the one receiving congratulations in June 2016, as by then she was editor of the Western Mail, and Tryst Williams had taken over at the Echo.

Williams joined the Echo in 2001 as a reporter. A lover of hiking, literature, and music, his first stories focused on these fields. Over time, he became a professional in all areas of journalism. He took over the Echo at the height of Brexit debates - not an easy topic.

On June 6, 2016, a new version of the South Wales Echo was launched, with Williams playing a key role. Experts described the new look as having a fresh and clean design. The page layout was also revised. All news stories were moved forward into the News section, interwoven with national headlines. Features, columns, and advice moved to the latter half. Main sections included:

• News
• Opinion
• Family
• Travel
• Arts & Entertainment
• Today’s TV
• Family Notices
• Classified
• Sport

These primary sections were interspersed with themed pages such as Yours, Parklife, Yesterday’s Extra, Feedback, Echo Live, Puzzles, and Jobs - all printed on high-quality paper and featuring top-tier photography.

A million readers, though no longer in print

Tryst Williams promoted the new Echo with these words: Offering the best of the old Echo with a great new look, the redesigned Echo will be the perfect platform to champion and celebrate the city while continuing to highlight the issues that matter most to our readers.

Complementing the paper’s refreshed image were daily supplements:

• Monday: Monday Sport, covering all Welsh sports news from the week
• Tuesday: eight-page Puzzle Time, including puzzles, crosswords, and sudoku for everyone
• Wednesday: Retail Therapy - new trends, shopping, and gift ideas
• Thursday: Hot Property - modern home and interior ideas
• Friday: What’s On and Hit the Road - one a lifestyle guide for dining and events, the other for general motoring
• Saturday: Lifestyle - from fashion, beauty, and healthy food to gardens and the full week’s TV guide

Just like at its inception, South Wales Echo continues to take part in various campaigns and community projects in Cardiff. In October 2017, the campaign Reaching out to rough sleepers launched to support the homeless. Readers were generous - raising £25,000 in just four weeks.


The same spirit was seen when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. In March 2020, the editors of Echo and Western Mail paid tribute to the NHS. Artist Nathan Wyburn created an image - a poster mural - that appeared on the front page of both papers on March 31. A nurse in a mask and the words Thank you were the only things shown on the cover that day. Both newsrooms backed the NHS Heroes support campaign. Readers joined in. In December, Williams published a letter to thank readers for their support. The paper aims to help all affected by the pandemic. Journalists from Echo and its sister papers work closely with police to deliver accurate updates about risks.

Yet life goes on beyond the pandemic, and journalism continues. Echo designers keep searching for new visual ideas, editors create new columns and sections. Babies, Advertisement feature, Tributes, and Celebrity Wellbeing are just a few. A team of 500 staff ensure that Wales’s most popular daily continues to reach readers every day. And while today’s print circulation stands at just 8,724 copies, the paper boasts over one million digital readers. It is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. For 137 years, Echo has been part of Welsh life, and as Tryst Williams says:

Echo continues to celebrate our proudest moments - the triumph of individuals over adversity, stories that make us smile, and moments we share as a resilient community.

South Wales Echo timeline:

• 1880, November 6 - first issue of the South Wales Echo weekly
• 1884 - official founding year of the South Wales Echo daily
• 1885, January 17 - first satirical illustrations
• 1885, February 4 - first portrait
• 1894, November 7 - illustration of H. Ronner’s painting
• 1914, November 9 - first series of WWI fallen soldiers’ photos
• 1916, August - conclusion of the fallen photo series
• 1919 - first supplement, Football Echo
• 1928 - Duncan & Son merges with Western Mail Ltd.
• 1930 - publisher renamed to Western Mail & Echo Ltd., first visual changes to the paper
• 1930 - red colour introduced to mark important news
• 1936 - new owner, Lord Kemsley, takes over the company
• 1959, June 17-August 3 - nationwide printers’ strike, no Echo published
• 1959 - Canadian firm Thomson Organisation acquires the paper and publisher
• 1961 - new headquarters on Havelock Street
• 1968 - first comic strip
• 1993 - Echo switches to tabloid format
• 1995 - Trinity becomes new publisher
• 1996, December - Echo-branded beer launched
• 1999 - merger of Trinity and Mirror Group
• 2001, March 7 - Echo reveals new design
• 2006, January 14 - last edition of Sport Echo (formerly Football Echo)
• 2007, January 25 - free youth supplement Juniorsport released
• 2007, June - paper debuts new slogan: "Echo at the heart of South Wales"
• 2008 - new offices on Six Park Street
• 2008 - website WalesOnline.co.uk goes live
• 2009, August 10 - first edition of the free Echo Extra
• 2016, June 6 - latest redesign and launch of six weekly supplements
• 2020 - new dedicated COVID-19 column launched

sources:

• https://newspapers.library.wales/browse/4228280
• https://jd2387.wordpress.com/sir-david-duncan/
• https://jd2387.wordpress.com/the-family-newspaper-business/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:South_Wales_Echo_Nov_6_1880.jpg
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Wales_Echo
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4607366.stm
• https://biography.wales/article/s2-STEP-CLA-1894
• https://war-memorials.swan.ac.uk/?p=649&lang=cy
• http://www.rugbyrelics.com/Museum/biogs/journos/Old-Stager.htm
• http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=D1061
• https://www.chepstow-racecourse.co.uk/news/racing/brian-lee-winner-of-lifetime-achievement-award
• https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/cardiff-remembered-when-newspapers-were-produced-by-the-old-hot-metal-method/
• https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Photographer+dies+at+age+of+92%3B+NEWS+IN+BRIEF.-a0632773025
• https://web.archive.org/web/20070716231105/http://opal.kent.ac.uk/cartoonx-cgi/artist.py?id=495
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6230567.stm
• https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2015/news/phenomenal-former-news-editor-dies-aged-75/
• https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/south-wales-echo-revamps-bid-create-modern-feel/87315
• https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/tag/south-wales-echo/page/18/
• https://www.pressgazzete.co.uk/trinity-mirror-names-south-wales-echo-editor/
• https://pressgazette.co.uk/south-wales-echo-editor-mike-hill-quits-for-university-role/
• https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2009/news/latin-inspiration-for-newspaper-redesign/
• https://www.89up.org/report/levesons-illiberal-legacy
• https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2014/news/two-trinity-mirror-editors-to-leave-their-jobs-in-july/
• https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-27829271
• https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/welcome-new-look-south-wales-11429043
• https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/a-letter-from-the-editor-of-the-south-wales-echo/