Aberdeen Independent closed down

YESTERDAY ought to have seen copies of a free, weekly newspaper drop through the letterboxes of households in Aberdeen.

But the 12 year-old Aberdeen Independent has been closed down, with the loss of 29 jobs, four of them editorial.

It follows a decision by owner, Keith Barwell, to put the paper up for sale with possible buyers given a deadline of last Saturday to agree a purchase.

Last week’s edition hoped the paper might “rise from the ashes”.

It had a circulation of 66,000 and was published on a Thursday.

Its demise means Aberdeen is now served by only one free, weekly newspaper: The Aberdeen Citizen, owned by the publishers of The Press and Journal and Evening Express.