Just four months after launching, https://www.rochdaletimes.co.uk/ has smashed through the 200,000 monthly page view milestone for the first time – marking a significant step forward for local journalism in the town.
The fast-growing site, launched in April by North Squared Media founder Karl Holbrook and Nick Fellows, Managing Director of Crosby Associates Media, has now notched up close to 1 million page views since its inception.
It’s a remarkable achievement for a brand created in the wake of the sudden closure of Rochdale Online, with a mission to fill the void left behind and establish a positive, community-first voice for the town.
“Rochdale has had a rough ride in the media but it’s full of passionate people, amazing stories and untapped potential,” said Karl Holbrook, who previously served as Editor of the Northern Echo and has led national and international newsrooms. “We created Rochdale Times to celebrate that – and to fill a bit of a gap.
“We try not to shy away from the difficult stories but we are really here to champion the good and highlight the overlooked positive stories around town.
“It is early days but to reach nearly a million page views in such a short space of time, in this incredibly tough media landscape, is nothing short of phenomenal.”
“The Rochale Times is a community asset,” said Nick Fellows. “The response we’ve had from people in Rochdale has been really humbling. We’re really trying to build something that matters and the numbers are a reflection of that impact.”
The audience milestone comes at a time of extreme difficulty for the wider news industry, with a recent Press Gazette study showing many publishers have seen their visibility on Google plummet by up to 80% in the past five years – making the success of Rochdale Times all the more notable.
Holbrook added: “It’s never been harder to launch a new media brand – so to have something so community driven like this, so quickly, and with such a warm response from the community, is something we’re incredibly proud of.”
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