The Hemel Hempstead Gazette & Express[2] is a local newspaper in the United Kingdom that covers the towns of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring and the surrounding area in Hertfordshire.[3]
 Front page of the Gazette & Express, January 2018 | |
| Format | Tabloid |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Johnston Press |
| Publisher | Premier Newspapers |
| Founded | 1858 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Hemel Hempstead, UK |
| Circulation | 850 (as of 2023)[1] |
| Sister newspapers | formerly the Berkhamsted & Tring Gazette and the Herald Express freesheet |
| ISSN | 2514-9458 |
| Website | hemeltoday |
History
editIt was first published in 1858 as The Hemel Hempstead Gazette and West Herts Advertiser, this was renamed in 1899 as The Hertfordshire, Hemel Hempstead Gazette and West Herts Advertiser and it was published under this title until 1973. From 1973 it was known simply as the Hemel Hempstead Gazette, and from 1991 as The Gazette.[4] The paper generated two sibling titles, the Berkhamsted & Tring Gazette and a free newspaper, Herald Express, all of which come from the same offices.[3] In May 2017, the Gazette's parent company Johnston Press merged the three titles into on single newspaper, the Hemel Hempstead Gazette & Express.[5]
The paper covers a range of local stories, including reports about crime and violence,[6][7] planning applications affecting green belt land,[8] stories related to the killer clown craze[9] and film premieres.[10]
In 2005, the Newspaper Society praised the Hemel Hempstead Gazette for its coverage of the Buncefield oil depot explosion.[11] In 2014, the Gazette covered a local controversy about the proposed construction of a Lidl supermarket in Berkhamsted. The public debate attracted attention from national media such as the Daily Mail and was featured on an edition of ITV London News.[12][13]
In 2018, the Gazette was reprimanded by the Independent Press Standards Organisation for a news item on its Hemel Today website which falsely reported that a former mayor of Dacorum Borough Council had committed suicide after suffering from the effects of the menopause. The story related to another woman of the same name, and the Gazette apologised to the former mayor.[14]
Publication, production and ownership
editThe Hemel Hempstead Gazette & Express is part of Premier Newspapers Ltd which itself is part of the Johnston Press group of local newspapers.[15] It is printed in Sheffield. It is published on Wednesdays.[3]
The Gazette's website is published under the title Hemel Today,[2] with archives going back to 1990, with corresponding mirror websites entitled Berkhamsted Today[16] and Tring Today.[17]
Previously, about 10 people worked in the editorial department which was based at Newspaper House, 39 Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 1LH. In January 2014 Johnston Press closed the Gazette office, and the editorial staff are now remote workers. The Gazette's paper archive is now held by the Dacorum Heritage Trust which has refused the newspaper access to its own archives.[18][19]
References
edit- ^ "Hemel Hempstead Gazette". Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK). 19 February 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ a b "hemeltoday". Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ^ a b c "Hemel Hempstead Gazette". British Newspapers Online. 5 April 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ Reynolds, Chris (January 2008). "Hemel Hempstead Gazette". Old Hertfordshire Newspapers. Hertfordshire Genealogy. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ Mahmood, Zainab (2017-06-23). "Johnston Press merges three local weeklies into single title". Press Gazette. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
- ^ "81-year-old is victim of Berkhamsted town centre bag snatch". Berkhamsted Today. 16 September 2016. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ "Shopper threatened to throw tin of baked beans at supermarket staff". 30 July 2015. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ "Inspectorate to consider whether Berkhamsted 'village green' plan should pretect open space". 3 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ "PICTURE: Hemel Hempstead makes national news after 'killer clown' incident at Tesco". 7 November 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ "Cosplayers turn heads at movie premiere". 8 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ "Local Press Rally to Cover Oil Depot Explosion". newspapersoc.org.uk. The Newspaper Society. Archived from the original on 10 November 2006. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ O'Neill, David (30 April 2014). "Want to be on telly? Then go to Berko Civic Centre at 11.30am today!". Berkhamsted & Tring Gazette. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ ""If you want a Lidl or an Aldi, go to Hemel'". Berkhamsted and Tring Gazette. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ Sharman, David (31 August 2018). "Hemel Today sorry after story claimed former Dacorum mayor died - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ Amos, Owen (19 January 2009). "Johnston Press centralises subbing - reporters stay local". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ "berkhamstedtoday". Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ^ "tringtoday". Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ^ Lambourne, Helen (10 January 2014). "Hemel Hempstead Gazette's office to close". HoldtheFrontPage. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018.
- ^ Greenslade, Roy (10 January 2014). "Local newspaper heads into the future by relinquishing its office". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.