With the Guard­ian look­ing at the par­lous state of Britain’s local papers, how have they fared over the past half century?

Andrew Grant-Adamson found out whilst doing a little research for his local newsagent.

The East Anglian Daily Times reached edi­tion 42,330 today. Last week I delved back in the county records for 50 years to look for the day our vil­lage news­agents star­ted their busi­ness (Novem­ber 17, 1958). They wanted to see it again.

In that half-a-century Grace and Bob Web­ster have sold well over six mil­lion cop­ies of the regional morn­ing. They wanted to see what it said on day they star­ted their still thriv­ing busi­ness where Grace, at the age of 80, con­tin­ues to get up at 4.30 in the morn­ing to sort large piles of papers for deliv­ery. The provide their ser­vice to many of the vil­lages around.

What struck me as the old micro­film image came up on the records office screen was that the Anglian is now provid­ing more local news than it was. First there was the size: eight pages broad­sheet then and 48 tabloid now (Mondays).

That is a trip­ling of the area of news­print to be filled. Gran­ted pic­tures and much much big­ger head­lines fill much of that extra space. Yet the paper clearly provides a lar­ger volume of local news now than it did in 1958.

Then it was very much an agency filled national and inter­na­tional plus local news­pa­per. The Cyprus prob­lems, a car strike in the mid­lands, Rus­sia, Ghana and free trade talks were all on the front page. Twenty three stor­ies and a briefs column on the front page.

But even the weather story was hardly given a local spin and and the egg mar­ket­ing scheme none at all.