Two Merge into One, as New Newspaper Gets Set to Serve the South of Glasgow

Two free newspapers serving the southside of Glasgow are being merged to represent the whole of the south of Glasgow, and the 220,000 residents.

The Glasgow SouthSide Press is a hybrid of The Glasgow SouthEast Press and The Govan and Glasgow SouthWest Press, though residents specifically in the Govan area will receive their own 'Govan Press' edition, to recognise a title that has been in existence since 1872.

The paper's publisher is John Maclean, who works part-time as a sub-editor at various national newspapers. His company, from next week, will be distributing 30,000 copies of the monthly title.

Says Maclean: “The new paper will build on the positive partnerships established by The Govan and Glasgow SouthWest Press and The Glasgow SouthEast Press. Over the last two years we have striven to promote all that is best about our great city and help council agencies, charities, the police, fire brigade and health service groups to communicate directly and effectively with local residents.”

There is to be a daily-updated community website – www.southsidepress.co.uk – which will provide, among other things, access to back issues of the paper.

The paper, like its predecessors, will be sustained by advertising, which Maclean describes as “cost-effective”.

He took over as publisher two-and-a-half years ago.