News

Jersey paper’s sports pages supplement sales

The Jersey Evening Post’s series of 16-page full-colour wraps to mark the staging of the bi-annual Island Games on the island was rewarded with an increase in sales last week – days after the paper celebrated its 125th birthday.

One of the circulation-boosting special editions published in Hersey during the Island Games last week
One of the circulation-boosting special editions published in Hersey during the Island Games last week

The Games – which include teams from Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Bermuda, as well Sweden’s Gotland, Spain’s Menorca, and Denmark’s Greenland and the Faroe Islands among its 24 participants – was covered in week-long picture supplements, the front and back pages of which were the wrap.

The newspaper announced a 3.2 per cent sales increase compared to the same week last year with Saturday’s edition, produced to mark the final day of the event, up by 16 per cent on the corresponding day in 2014.

For good measure Jersey also topped the medals table in emphatic style, collecting more than 130, including 50 golds.

As far as his paper’s triumph was concerned, editor Andy Sibcy told holdthefrontpage.co.uk: “It was a great team effort, with reporters, photographers, subs and the digital desk working round the clock to produce fantastic coverage. They worked ridiculous hours, but the office was buzzing all week.

“We know that when we produce excellent papers which play to our strengths and tap into events that create a single point of focus for the community, we can still achieve very positive sales figures.

“The wraps provided a great canvas for some amazing images and made it clear that readers were getting extra value from the additional and innovative content on top of their regular JEP. The feedback has been incredible.”

Picture editor Peter Mourant added: “To get pictures that work well, both as an eye-catching front page and a wrap required a lot of thought including site visits ahead of the events and also some luck.

“It wasn’t a surprise to me that our sports images are excellent, but the chance to showcase them so big has produced a huge amount of positive feedback.”

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UPCOMING SJA EVENTS

Tue July 14: Young sports journalists social event

Mon Sep 14: SJA Autumn Golf Day, Muswell Hill Golf Club

Tue Oct 6: Entry forms for 2015 SJA British Sports Journalism Awards published

Thu Dec 17: SJA British Sports Awards, sponsored by The National Lottery

2016

Mon Feb 22: SJA British Sports Journalism Awards dinner, sponsored by BT Sport