The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating and long-lasting impact on our lives. The media landscape, like most industries, has been changed immeasurably.
At The Reading Chronicle, and our sister titles across Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, life has not been the same since.
However, these tough times have shone a light on the impact our business can have on the community – huge digital audience growth throughout 2020 has shown that people turn to trusted local news sources when they need vital information the most.
Our job as key workers, disseminating news to people – often elderly, vulnerable residents – cut off from the wider community has never been so important.
“Working from home and holding news conferences on various Teams calls, our journalists have worked tirelessly to keep readers abreast of the latest developments, news and reaction as it came in. ”
Working from home and holding news conferences on various Teams calls, our journalists have worked tirelessly to keep readers abreast of the latest developments, news and reaction as it came in.
In 2020, Reading often found itself at the heart of the national news cycle; from the death of the first coronavirus victim at Royal Berkshire Hospital to the Forbury Gardens terror attack.
As well as the tumultuous subjects of our stories, the coronavirus has had a lasting impact on the economy and the financial aspect of our community.
At one stage, retailers were not open to sell newspapers and as traditional advertisers closed a vital revenue stream was drastically being scaled back.
But throughout all the bad times, we’ve been by your side with various campaigns – including Backing Business and Lifeline for Reading – showing our desire to keep Reading moving and helping people to get back on their feet.
This great community has shown such heart in times of adversity and disaster and we’ve tried to stand with you shoulder-to-shoulder (virtually, obviously) throughout it all. We’re proud to be Reading’s newspaper and thank our readers and advertisers so much for the continued support.
