Help us celebrate the importance of local news (From Gazette Series)

Help us celebrate the importance of local news

AFTER more than 125 years of reporting the news, the Gazette aims to make the news to celebrate Local Newspaper Week - and we need your help.

Could you be the Gazette's oldest or youngest reader?

Do you think you have been reading the Gazette longer than anyone else?

Do you have a prized Gazette issue from years gone by - perhaps it includes your wedding photo or a picture from school?

In fact, if the Gazette has played a part in your life, let us know.

Call feature writer Kirsty Ramsden on 01454 320111 and help us celebrate an important week for the Gazette and, of course, you its readership.

Local newspapers are read by 40 million adults every week, are the most trusted of all media and the biggest UK print advertising sector.

There are 1,300 regional and local newspapers in the UK today and nearly one in three adults who read a regional newspaper do not read a national daily.

More than 39 million regional newspapers are sold and 24 million distributed free.

In fact UK people spend nearly £675 million each year on buying local newspapers.

The regional press is especially successful when it comes to fundraising. Have you got a heart-warming story of how the Gazette helped boost your campaign or appeal?

The start of local newspaper week coincides with World Press Freedom Day, Monday, May 3. Help us celebrate the importance of local newspapers.