News Team Wins Regional Media Innovator Award 2020

Congratulations to Pulman's Weekly News digital team named "Best Local News Publication 2020 - West Country" by Corporate Vision Magazine in their Media Innovator Awards.

PULMAN'S WEEKLY NEWS & ADVERTISER SERIES was founded in 1857 by West Country publisher George Philip Rigney Pulman. For generations his papers have been highly regarded by communities as a reliable source of news and for their local advertising services. Today this honourable tradition continues. New and growing readership demands have required a gradual transition from print to digital.

This long-term technology investment has already resulted in the company being presented with the West Country 'Media Innovator Award' for 2020 by Corporate Vision Magazine.

Says Devon born Managing Editor, Duncan Williams: "This validation for our digital outreach, particularly during these Covid-19 aware times, has been been most welcome. We are seeing more readers and businesses needing to read, promote and connect to our local news services than ever before."

Backdated wages secured for staff of defunct British newspaper group following two-year legal battle

Report by Daniel Wilkins for MidweekHerald

The publisher at the centre of a row over the defunct Pulman’s View From series of newspapers, which covered parts of East Devon, has secured backdated pay for former employees.

Duncan Williams told the Herald he has reached an agreement with the insolvency agency for 29 staff from the View From titles to get their wages.

It follows a two-year legal battle after Mr Williams appealed having to assume more than £500,000 worth of debt when he launched a bid to revive the titles.

He said: “As a trade union member myself, I support what the staff have been through.

“I always said to them I would appeal this.”

Mr Williams purchased the View From titles, which included papers covering Sidmouth, Honiton, Axminster, Seaton and Lyme Regis, in January 2018.

He set out to revive the titles, as well as launch an award in honour of George Pulman, who founded the papers in the 1850s.

Mr Williams said: “It wasn’t a capricious act – it was genuinely to do something that would celebrate that heritage.

“But the debts were astronomical – I have been chased by debt collectors for two years.”

He set up a crowdfunding campaign in the hope of attracting investors to help him revive the titles.

In doing so, he needed to give investors a guarantee and took on the liabilities of the company.

This prompted a two-year legal battle, and, despite an appeal, Mr Williams was told by the courts he had assumed more than £500,000 in debt, which included the unpaid staff wages.

Mr Williams told the Herald that securing the agreement for former staff to be paid was a ‘tremendous relief’ to him.

However, this is not the end of the road for Mr Williams, as he is still repaying debts owed to those who contributed to his crowd-funding.

He said the lack of advertising revenue due to the coronavirus made the papers’ relaunch unfeasible.

He added: “The AI digital technology I have developed would have been part of the plan to relaunch, and that still is the intention, but, in the current climate, it would be crazy to pursue this.”

https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/former-staff-of-view-from-get-backdated-wages-1-6672693

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