The Byron Shire Echo is a weekly independent compact newspaper published every Wednesday in Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia. The newspaper was founded in 1986 as The Brunswick Valley Echo by Nicholas Shand and David Lovejoy.[3]

The Byron Shire Echo
The front page of The Byron Shire Echo
Volume 34, Number 51 – 27 May 2020
TypeWeekly newspaper
FormatCompact
Owner(s)
  • Shand family estate
    (majority owner – 43%)
  • David Lovejoy
    (minority owner – 38%)
  • Others
    (minority owners – 19%)
Founder(s)Nicholas Shand
David Lovejoy
PublisherEcho Publications Pty Ltd
EditorHans Lovejoy
General managerSimon Haslam
Photo editorJeff Dawson
Founded11 June 1986
(37 years ago)
 (1986-06-11)
Political alignmentProgressivism
Headquarters1/64 McGoughans Lane
Mullumbimby, New South Wales, 2482
CountryAustralia
Circulation24,500 (as of 15 December 2021)[1]
Readership30,147[2]
OCLC number221390414
Websiteecho.net.au
Free online archivesissuu.com

Overview edit

The newspaper published its first issue on 11 June 1986 largely in response to marijuana raids made by the New South Wales Police Force in valleys surrounding Mullumbimby. Shand and Lovejoy founded the newspaper as a civil rights watchdog due to news media refusing to report on aggressive and illegal actions made by police.[3]

In 1991, Shand, Lovejoy and photographer Jeff Dawson established the Lismore Echo which would later be sold to the employees of the newspaper and renamed the Northern Rivers Echo.[3] The "Northern Rivers Echo" would change hands again with Australian Provincial Newspapers purchasing it in December 2008 and once more in 2016 when the newspaper was sold to News Corp Australia.[3][4] before being totally closed by News Corp Australia in June 2020[5] A third newspaper named the Tweed Shire Echo began publication in August 2008, but ceased publication in 2012 as a result of low income. Echonetdaily was launched in August 2011 as an online newspaper covering news and events in the Northern Rivers region.[3]

The newspaper's website, through Issuu; an electronic publishing platform, provides archived PDF versions of the newspaper dating back to 2005. A documentary of the newspaper titled The Echo Doco – Born To Be Trouble was released in 2011.[6]

Since 2010, the newspaper has been edited by Hans Lovejoy. He is only the third editor in the newspaper's history, after founder Nicholas Shand and long-serving editor Michael McDonald. The general manager of the company is Simon Haslam, columnists of the newspaper include Mungo MacCallum and Mandy Nolan.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ "The Byron Shire Echo" (PDF). 27 May 2020. p. 04. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  2. ^ "THE BYRON SHIRE ECHO OVERVIEW". acmadcentre.com.au. Australian Community Media. 31 May 2020. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e "About The Echo". echo.net.au. 31 May 2020. Archived from the original on 31 August 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  4. ^ "News Corp gets green light to buy APN". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 8 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  5. ^ "News Corp announces end of more than 100 Australian print newspapers in huge shift to digital". TheGuardian.com. 27 May 2020.
  6. ^ "The Echo Doco – Born To Be Trouble". sharonshostak.com. 31 May 2020. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Contributors and staff". echo.net.au. 31 May 2020. Archived from the original on 31 August 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2020.