AS the Argus celebrates its 120th birthday, we give a brief history of your daily paper.
● FIRST published from offices in Baneswell, Newport, on May 30, 1892. The first edition contained just four pages.
● The South Wales Argus and Monmouthshire Daily Leader was originally a promotional tool for the Liberal Party, largely financed by local Liberal MP Sir Garrod Thomas.
● In 1897 the Argus moved to new premises in High Street, Newport, and installed a rotary press that could print 10,000 copies an hour.
● The High Street site doubled in size in 1923 when the adjacent first Masonic Hall was acquired.
● In 1943 the Argus moved again, to new offices in Market Street, Newport. Appropriately, given the historical connections between journalism and alcohol, a pub now stands on part of the site.
● In 1969 the Argus moved to its current purpose-built premises in Maesglas.
● Traditional hot metal production processes ended in 1979 as the Argus became set entirely by photocomposition.
● A new press was installed in 1990, capable of printing up to 60,000 copies an hour.
● In 1997 the Saturday edition of the Argus became a morning newspaper and moved from broadsheet to compact size. The following year the Monday-Friday editions also moved to compact size but remained evening publications.
● At the turn of the century, the Argus launched its website. First called thisisgwent.co.uk it became southwalesargus.co.uk in 2005 and now breaks local news and sports stories 24/7 while also feeding Argus Twitter accounts and Facebook pages.
● In 2008 all editions of the Argus moved to overnight printing and the Newport press was closed down. The paper is now printed in Worcester or Oxford.
● In 2012, 120 years after a fourpage broadsheet Argus was printed by hand from a tiny office in Baneswell, we are truly in the digital age, shortlisted for best use of social media in the national Online Media Awards.
Factfile: the Argus editors
THE eight editors of the South Wales Argus:
● 1892-1917 Charles Douglas Stentiford
● 1917-1939 William John Townsend Collins
● 1939-1951 George H Hoare
● 1951-1970 Kenneth Loveland
● 1970-1987 Ken Griffin
● 1987-1994 Steve Hoselitz
● 1994-2012 Gerry Keighley
● 2012- Kevin Ward
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel