Business secretary Vince Cable and Tory MP Zac Goldsmith have already said they are concerned about the cuts facing the Surrey Comet.
Now we are asking residents, community groups and associations to help us. If we've helped you or your family in our 157 year history, raised an issue you care about, or campaigned for a cause you believe in, or if you simply believe in local papers, back our campaign against savage cuts to the paper.
Fewer pages and fewer reporters means fewer stories about our community.
Fewer pages and fewer reporters means fewer stories about our community.
We want to ask individuals and groups to echo these concerns by sending us a message of support or signing our petition (online when it is ready or in person next week) to stand beside the Surrey Comet.
We hope this message will go back to Newsquest management so they hear how the community feel before marking cuts which we believe could be fatal to the paper.
We hope this message will go back to Newsquest management so they hear how the community feel before marking cuts which we believe could be fatal to the paper.
Vince gave his support to our sister paper The Richmond and Twickenham Times saying: "It’s a very important part of the local community and the Richmond and Twickenham Times has long been a highly regarded local paper with a good record. It is something that binds the community together.
"I know it has been under financial pressure for a long time because of the internet and problems with advertising but this is very worrying news – I’m very concerned about it."
And Zac said: "There is some worrying news from the Richmond Twickenham Times, whose journalists have gone on strike to protest against cuts.
"In difficult times, cuts are unavoidable, as we are seeing nationally. But the parent company, Newsquest, posted a healthy operating profit of £71.7m last year, and doesn’t appear to be in choppy waters at all.
"Following a number of redundancies in recent years, a further eight staff were placed on notice of redundancy last month. If they leave the company, there will be just 12 reporters left to cover news, sport and leisure for seven local newspapers. It is very hard to see how the papers would be able to avoid a drop in quality.
"Vibrant local papers are an important community asset. They are a focal point for local campaigns, they keep elected representatives on their toes, and they provide the community with bespoke local information. No one wants to see the news stories replaced by an endless stream of ads, or a drop in quality - and I hope the parent company will temper its plans."
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