From the Mail to the Bin: Hartlepool’s Once Local Newspaper Paper Hits Rock Bottom...
- teessidetoday
- Apr 30
- 4 min read
Things have gone from bad to worse for The Hartlepool Mail — and this time, the writing really does seem to be on the wall.
1st May 2025
New figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) reveal that The Hartlepool Mail now holds the unfortunate title of having the lowest readership of any locally published newspaper in the region.
It’s said to be a catastrophic low point for a newspaper that was once seen as the staple of the town’s media landscape — now reduced to little more than a fading memory on the newsstand.
The data couldn’t come at a worse time. where its claimed across Teesside and County Durham, traditional print media is haemorrhaging readers, as more and more locals ditch paid-for papers in favour of free, independent journalism online — much of it produced by ordinary citizens or smaller media outlets, not millionaire corporate editors. But while others are limping, The Hartlepool Mail is literally collapsing.
According to ABC’s circulation audit, The Hartlepool Mail — which is now printed only once weekly — now draws in just 800 readers per issue. That’s not a typo either. Even worse, when it comes to online subscriptions, the numbers are laughably low: just 16 people reportedly pay to read the paper’s digital content. That’s right — in a town of nearly 94,000 people, fewer than two dozen are willing to part with their cash to read The Hartlepool Mail online.
These dire numbers have led to serious questions within the journalism industry: how much longer can the Hartlepool Mail now survive?
Teesside’s Titles Still in Trouble – But Faring Better that the Mail....
Whilst The Hartlepool Mail is said to be in total freefall, other regional newspapers are at least keeping a pulse. The Teesside Gazette reportedly continues to shift around 3,708 copies per print edition, and boasts 920 paid digital subscribers — a very long way from its heyday, but still lightyears ahead of The Hartlepool Mail.
Then there’s the Darlington & Stockton Times, which is currently the strongest-performing title in the region, drawing in a healthy 7,690 print readers, though its digital subscriptions remain fairly modest at just 82. The Northern Echo is not far behind with 7,528 in print circulation and 195 online subscribers, helped no doubt by its strategy of reportedly placing nearly half of its digital content behind a paywall.
But the overall trend is clear: print is in decline, and local readers are voting with their feet — or rather, with their clicks — by turning to independent online media that reflects their concerns, not Westminster talking points.
Go Left.... & Get Left Behind !
The Hartlepool Mail’s downfall has sadly been years in the making. Once viewed as a reliable source of local news, it's gradually alienated its readership with what many see as clear editorial bias towards the Labour Party — a party that, it must be said, no longer enjoys the same stronghold in Hartlepool that it once did.
When the political pendulum in Hartlepool swung decisively from Labour to Conservative in recent years, The Hartlepool Mail seemed desperately unwilling — or even unable — to reflect that change in public sentiment. As one reader put it: “They never left the Labour echo chamber — and now, no one’s listening.”
The result? A newspaper that feels increasingly out of step with the people it claims to represent.
Like the old saying goes: Go woke, go broke — but perhaps in this case it’s more like: Go Left… and get Left Behind.
A Commercial Collapse or a Political Wake-Up Call?
The implications of these figures are stark. With just 800 readers left, and barely any digital income to speak of, The Hartlepool Mail is no longer commercially viable — a sobering reality for its owners. Industry whispers are already suggesting that the axe on the Hartlepool Mail may fall sooner rather than later, with some speculating the title might not make it to the end of 2025.
For Hartlepool’s residents, it raises a bigger question as to whether locals really need a newspaper that's longer representing the local population ?
In the vacuum left by corporate mainstream media’s decline, it’s clear that local people are hungry for independent, unfiltered journalism — news that’s by the people, for the people. And if The Hartlepool Mail won’t provide that, it seems the people of Hartlepool are more than happy to look elsewhere.
James Barker, editor of Durham & Teesside Today, commented that before being de-platformed by social media giants, the independent news site HartlepoolToday.org was achieving over 3,000 readers from a single publication alone — outperforming The Hartlepool Mail’s entire weekly print readership and online subscription base combined. “That tells you everything you need to know about how badly mainstream newspapers have failed to adapt to the digital era,” Mr Barker said.
“Our success has come from delivering the stories people actually want to read, presented through a balanced, factual lens. He continued, We trust our readers to form their own opinions — we don’t push an agenda. That’s what independent journalism is. Anything else? is just political brainwashing.”
And in a town like Hartlepool — where trust in the political establishment is at an all-time low — it's no wonder people are turning off the legacy press and tuning in to those who speak with authenticity.
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