MORE THAN 80 staff at River Media Newspapers – most of them in Co Donegal – are said to be ‘relieved’ after surviving a closure scare.
The company which owned the Letterkenny Post, Donegal Post, Inish Times and three other titles, was wound up last Friday.
But a new company run by the same team has been set up to take the papers forward, having off-loaded massive debts, some of it to the taxpayer-owned AIB bank.
“We are just relieved at this stage,” one member of staff told donegaldaily.com.
“This is good news for us; we are relieved and delighted all at the same time. It means the papers can move forward without the historical debt which had been dragging us down.
“It is also great news for Letterkenny because most of us are based here. It gives the papers and all of us who work for them a fresh start.”
Another member of staff said tonight: “This lifts a cloud off us all. It’s good news at last.”
The news comes ahead of circulation figures for all Donegal newspapers which are expected to be released early next week.
It’s thought most newspapers will show significant declines in sales.
Ironically the River Media Newspapers-owned Derry News was one of the few papers in the North to show an increase in sales in the past six months.
