KM Group
Encyclopedia
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent
in South East England
. The company operates local newspapers, radio stations and internet sites throughout the county.
) was first published in Kent's county town
of Maidstone
. The newspaper was taken over by Barham Pratt Boorman in 1890, after its owners, the Masters brothers, were jailed and were forced to sell up. Boorman had already started his own newspapers in Ashford
.
Barham was succeeded by his son, Henry Pratt Boorman, in the late 1920s. Known as The Guv'nor, he was an enthusiast for photography, and pioneered extensive use of pictures in his paper. He realised that people would be keen to buy the paper if it included their picture or pictures of their own towns and villages.
Henry's son Edwin joined the firm in the late 1950s and was managing director from 1962 until 1986. That was when his father stepped down as Chairman and became President of what had developed into the Kent Messenger Group. Edwin took the Chair and remained at the helm until the end of 2005 when he was succeeded by his oldest daughter, Geraldine Allinson.
The firm moved from its original editorial offices and printing plant close to Maidstone East Station in the early 1970s following a fire. The new location is about five miles west of Maidstone, at Messenger House, in New Hythe Lane, Larkfield. During Edwin's Chairmanship the company expanded, acquiring other newspapers across Kent, diversifying into local radio and developing a web presence at www.kentonline.co.uk.
The company rebranded itself to the KM Group in 2008.. It cut 61 jobs in 2008 due to advertising revenue dropping by 25-30%. Further proposed job losses were announced in February 2009.
In July 2011, it was announced that Northcliffe Media
intended to sell nine of its titles to the KM Group. The newspapers involved include the Dover Express, East Kent Gazette, Folkestone Herald, Herne Bay and Whitstable Times, Isle of Thanet Gazette, Medway News
and Thanet Times. KM Group has referred the matter of the aquisition of the titles to the Office of Fair Trading
.
Apart from the Medway Messenger, which is published twice-weekly on Monday and Friday, the other KM titles are released on Thursdays.
Also published is Kent Business, a monthly publication which has been going since 1993.
Extra. There are now 8 Extra newspapers around the county which are mostly distributed through letterboxes and are also published online.
The Extra papers are usually published on Wednesdays.
The Group also operates a DAB
station, KMFM Extra
.
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. The company operates local newspapers, radio stations and internet sites throughout the county.
History
The KM Group can trace its roots back to 1859, when the Maidstone Telegraph (now the Kent MessengerKent Messenger
This article is about the weekly paper for the Maidstone region. For the Kent Messenger Group, see KM Group.The Kent Messenger is a weekly newspaper serving the mid-Kent area. It is published in three editions - Maidstone, Malling, and the Weald...
) was first published in Kent's county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
. The newspaper was taken over by Barham Pratt Boorman in 1890, after its owners, the Masters brothers, were jailed and were forced to sell up. Boorman had already started his own newspapers in Ashford
Ashford, Kent
Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
.
Barham was succeeded by his son, Henry Pratt Boorman, in the late 1920s. Known as The Guv'nor, he was an enthusiast for photography, and pioneered extensive use of pictures in his paper. He realised that people would be keen to buy the paper if it included their picture or pictures of their own towns and villages.
Henry's son Edwin joined the firm in the late 1950s and was managing director from 1962 until 1986. That was when his father stepped down as Chairman and became President of what had developed into the Kent Messenger Group. Edwin took the Chair and remained at the helm until the end of 2005 when he was succeeded by his oldest daughter, Geraldine Allinson.
The firm moved from its original editorial offices and printing plant close to Maidstone East Station in the early 1970s following a fire. The new location is about five miles west of Maidstone, at Messenger House, in New Hythe Lane, Larkfield. During Edwin's Chairmanship the company expanded, acquiring other newspapers across Kent, diversifying into local radio and developing a web presence at www.kentonline.co.uk.
The company rebranded itself to the KM Group in 2008.. It cut 61 jobs in 2008 due to advertising revenue dropping by 25-30%. Further proposed job losses were announced in February 2009.
In July 2011, it was announced that Northcliffe Media
Northcliffe Media
Northcliffe Media Ltd. is a large regional newspaper publisher in the UK and Central and Eastern Europe, owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. The company's name was changed to Northcliffe Media from Northcliffe Newspaper Group in 2007.It operates from over 30 publishing centres, and also...
intended to sell nine of its titles to the KM Group. The newspapers involved include the Dover Express, East Kent Gazette, Folkestone Herald, Herne Bay and Whitstable Times, Isle of Thanet Gazette, Medway News
Medway News
The Medway News is a weekly newspaper covering the Medway Towns in Kent, England. Established in 1855 as the Military Chronicle and Naval Spectator, it relaunched as the Chatham News and Rochester, Strood, Brompton & Gillingham Advertiser on Saturday 9 July, 1859...
and Thanet Times. KM Group has referred the matter of the aquisition of the titles to the Office of Fair Trading
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...
.
Paid newspapers
The KM Group operates a number of weekly newspapers for different parts of Kent which have been acquired over the years.- Kent MessengerKent MessengerThis article is about the weekly paper for the Maidstone region. For the Kent Messenger Group, see KM Group.The Kent Messenger is a weekly newspaper serving the mid-Kent area. It is published in three editions - Maidstone, Malling, and the Weald...
, with three editions- Maidstone
- Malling
- Weald
- Dartford Messenger
- Gravesend Messenger
- Medway Messenger
- Faversham News
- Sheerness Times GuardianSheerness Times GuardianThe Sheerness Times Guardian is a weekly newspaper serving the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. It is owned by the KM Group and is published on Thursdays.-History:...
- Sittingbourne Extra
- Kentish GazetteKentish GazetteThe Kentish Gazette is a weekly newspaper serving the city of Canterbury, Kent. It is owned by the KM Group and is published on Thursdays.-History:The newspaper claims to be the second oldest surviving newspaper in the United Kingdom....
(CanterburyCanterburyCanterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
) - Whitstable Gazette
- Herne Bay Gazette
- East Kent MercuryEast Kent Mercury and Dover MercuryThe East Kent Mercury and Dover Mercury are weekly newspapers serving the district of Dover in Kent. The Dover Mercury covers the town of Dover, and the East Kent Mercury the towns of Deal and Sandwich...
(DealDeal, KentDeal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
and SandwichSandwich, KentSandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
)) - Dover MercuryEast Kent Mercury and Dover MercuryThe East Kent Mercury and Dover Mercury are weekly newspapers serving the district of Dover in Kent. The Dover Mercury covers the town of Dover, and the East Kent Mercury the towns of Deal and Sandwich...
- Kentish ExpressKentish ExpressThe Kentish Express is a weekly newspaper serving southern Kent. It is published in four editions - Ashford, Folkestone, Hythe and the Romney Marsh, and Tenterden. It is owned by the KM Group and is published on Thursdays.-History:...
, with four editions- Ashford
- Folkestone
- Hythe and Romney Marsh
- Tenterden
Apart from the Medway Messenger, which is published twice-weekly on Monday and Friday, the other KM titles are released on Thursdays.
Also published is Kent Business, a monthly publication which has been going since 1993.
Free newspapers
In 1981 KM Group launched its Extra series, beginning with the ThanetThanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...
Extra. There are now 8 Extra newspapers around the county which are mostly distributed through letterboxes and are also published online.
The Extra papers are usually published on Wednesdays.
Radio
The KM Group owns and operates seven commercial radio stations in Kent. Six of them were previously independent stations, acquired by the Group between 1999 and 2006 and collectively rebranded KMFM.The Group also operates a DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
station, KMFM Extra
KMFM Extra
KMFM Extra is a DAB radio station based in Rochester and broadcasting to the county of Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group....
.
Internet
KM Group's main consumer website is KentOnline.co.uk, launched in 1998. The website offers local news, travel, jobs, motors, holidays and other features. In 2008 there were 9 local sites launched to complement the service. A tenth local site, sittingbournemessenger.co.uk was luanched in June 2009.Other media
KM Group also operates Headline Travel and supports charities such as the Kent & Medway Walking Bus.Offices
KM Group has offices in Ashford, Cliftonville, Deal, Gravesend, Larkfield, London, Maidstone, Sheerness, Strood and Whitstable. It previously had offices in Dover, Faversham, Sittingbourne and Tunbridge Wells (which were closed in 2008); Folkestone (which closed in April 2009); and Canterbury, which moved to Whitstable in 2008 after outgrowing the Canterbury building..External links
- KM Group's flagship consumer website: KentOnline
- Kentish Express (serving Ashford, Folkestone and surrounding areas)
- Kentish Gazette (serving Canterbury and surrounding areas)
- East Kent Mercury (serving Dover, Deal, Sandwich and surrounding areas)
- Dartford Messenger (serving Dartford and surrounding areas)
- Gravesend Messenger (serving Gravesend and surrounding areas)
- Kent Messenger (serving Maidstone and surrounding areas)
- Medway Messenger (serving Medway)
- Sheerness Times Guardian (serving the Isle of Sheppey)
- Sittingbourne Messenger (serving Sittingbourne and surrounding areas)
- Thanet Extra (serving Thanet)
- KMFM
- Kent Business
- More information on the KM Group