The News Post Leader is a British weekly freesheet that covers the North-east county of Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, including the towns of Cramlington

Cramlington

Cramlington is a town and civil parish in the county of Northumberland, North East England, situated north of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The town's name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or an Anglo-Saxon origin, the word "ton" meaning town. The population was estimated as 39,000 in...

, Ashington

Ashington

Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England with a population of around 27,000 people; it was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is located some north of Newcastle upon Tyne off the A189. The south of the town is bordered by the River Wansbeck...

, Bedlington

Bedlington

Bedlington is a town in Northumberland, to the north of the Tyne and Wear urban area. It lies north of Newcastle and southeast of the county town of Morpeth. Other nearby places include Ashington to the north northeast, Blyth to the east and Cramlington to the south.The parish of Bedlington...

 and Blyth

Blyth, Northumberland

Blyth is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately 21 kilometres  northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne...

. While 99.4% of copies are delivered to houses for free on Thursday, the paper itself may be bought from local shops for 55p. While south-east Northumberland is also covered by the Evening Chronicle

Evening Chronicle

The Evening Chronicle is a daily, evening newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering Tyne and Wear, southern Northumberland and northern County Durham. It was founded in 1885 by Joseph Cowen...

, the Leader does not usually run news about Tyneside

Tyneside

Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...

.

History

The paper's date of founding is not clear, but it has existed since at least the mid-1950s due to its "All our Yesteryears" column which prints articles usually from 25 or 50 years before the date of publication. For example, in 2010 stories from 1985 and 1960 are printed. The paper was taken over by Northeast Press in 1999.

Content

The paper tends to have a focus on community news and events, mixed with its heavy advertising of local companies that is evident throughout. It also tends to cover local politics and the affairs of Northumberland County Council

Northumberland County Council

Northumberland County Council is a unitary authority in North East England. It was originally formed in 1889 as the council for the administrative county of Northumberland and reformed in 1974 to cover a the newly formed non-metropolitan county of Northumberland...

, as well as local sports such as local football team Blyth Spartans and youth sports. It also has a letters page, which is a popular area for residents to voice their concerns or to notify people of coming or past events. In addition, it carries an obituaries section and a classified advertising

Classified advertising

Classified advertising is a form of advertising which is particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals which may be sold or distributed free of charge...

section that often runs to 4–5 pages.