Is Lincs Echo next Northcliffe daily to go weekly?

The editor of the Lincolnshire Echo Jon Grubb has unexpectedly stepped down amid continued speculation that the title is about to go weekly, HoldtheFrontPage reports today.

It says staff at the Northcliffe-owned daily were told Grubb, editor for the past five and a half years, is leaving “to pursue new business interests.”

Steven Fletcher, currently deputy editor of the Nottingham Post, is to be acting editor of the Echo.

Last month Northcliffe announced that its Torquay Herald Express was to go weekly from this week.

Speculation that the Echo may go weekly was fuelled when it advertised in February for two journalists on six-month short term contracts to replace staff who had left.

There was also speculation that the paper is a target for a possible management buyout by those who believe the paper could be profitable on its own outside a large group.

The Echo has an average daily sale of 17,667.

Torquay switch to weekly could herald more frequency changes for Northcliffe's daily papers

Speculation that Northcliffe is considering switching a number of its dailies to weekly or bi-weekly publication will intensify with the news today that the company's daily Torquay Herald Express is to go weekly from next month.

HoldtheFrontPage reports that the last daily edition of the Herald Express, which has an average daily circulation of 21,112, will be published on Friday 15 July, and around half of the current 32 editorial jobs on the paper will go. The first weekly edition will be published on Thursday 21 July.

It follows a review by new Northcliffe managing director Steve Auckland who tells HTFP: “The move to weekly for the Herald Express is part of our strategy to respond to the market and improve the long-term performance of the business."

Northcliffe took the Bath Chronicle weekly in 2005 and Trinity Mirror's Birmingham Post has also converted from a daily to a weekly.

Speculation within Northcliffe is that it is not just the low circulation dailies that could go weekly. It is believed that some big dailies in parts of the country badly hit by the recession could be forced to change frequency because they are no longer bringing in the resources to finance a daily operation.

Any switch in frequency is likely to have a big impact on the number of journalists employed on the dailies.

Rumours that Northcliffe might be considering turning some its dailies weekly surfaced in February as one of its daily papers advertised for staff on short term contracts.

More recently speculation centred on the West Country titles, with Torquay and Exeter mentioned as Northcliffe dailies that could go weekly.

Outside Northcliffe, there has been speculation that Trinity Mirror's Liverpool Daily Post might go weekly.

Grey Cardigan on Northcliffe's future: 'Some big dailies could go weekly plus talk of local MBOs'

Grey Cardigan in his latest Press Gazette column is predicting difficult days ahead at Northcliffe's regional newspapers, which are undergoing a major review under new boss Steve Auckland.

Grey says the next round of cuts at some of the bigger Northcliffe titles are going to be very painful and he also poses a question about the frequency of the group's newspapers.

"Can we really envisage a major title like the Nottingham Evening Post going weekly?," Grey asks. "Apparently, yes we can. It's the big beasts that are really struggling, while many of Northcliffe's smaller dailies are still in modest profit."

Grey also claims that "at least one regional exec team is trying to put together a management buy-out, the theory being that once central costs have been stripped out and a sensible profit margin agreed, the balance sheet might look a bit healthier."

• Press Gazette magazine and the Grey Cardigan column are not online.

Why Northcliffe would be a good deal for Trinity

Sunday Times city editor James Ashton is again suggesting that Northcliffe would be a good acquisition for Trinity Mirror.

He wrote in his column: "There isn’t much good news in Trinity Mirror’s share price right now. Since the newspaper group released its annual results on March 3, the stock has tumbled 42%.It puts the market value of Trinity, which owns 160 regional newspapers and five national titles, at £127m — little more than eight weeks of revenue. Sly Bailey, the chief executive, must be worried.In the market’s eyes, the company she has run for the past eight years is drifting into HMV territory."

He suggests: "Bailey desperately needs to find deals like her acquisition of the Guardian’s regional titles last year to squeeze out more savings. Northcliffe, the Daily Mail’s regional arm, is the pick of the bunch, but Trinity’s share price only makes a tie-up harder. If Northcliffe is broken up, Trinity could pick off some bite-sized chunks."

On Trinity Mirror, Ashton claims: "There are few pure British newspaper groups for a reason. Most publishers realised years ago it made sense to diversify. That is why most of the big titles are now part of companies that run used-car websites, trade fairs, pay-TV and publish school textbooks.Trinity has chosen to do newspapers and websites, pure and simple. With the economy so bleak, the market might be spooked by that strategy but the shares look incredibly cheap nonetheless."

• The Sunday Times is behind a paywall