As London’s ‘local’ paper hits troubled times, we examine the profitable past and challenging future for Britain’s provincial press
What
Job title did George Osborne, the former Conservative chancellor of the exchequer, and the late
Labour leader Michael Foot both hold? It is a pub quiz teaser, but one that becomes easier if you add the names of journalists Max Hastings and Paul Dacre to the list.
The answer is that all four of them have at one time edited the Evening Standard, the
London local newspaper that has long stood alongside Britain’s major national titles, mainly by virtue of covering a vast capital city and serving a captive audience of commuters.