Newspaper to shut after a century

A newspaper group is to close one of it titles which has been in existence for more than a century.

The last edition of Birmingham's Sports Argus newspaper will be on 13 May.

The Saturday pink paper is part of the Birmingham Post and Mail Ltd, which is owned by Trinity Mirror. Its demise is being blamed on falling circulation.

A union spokesman said it will oppose compulsory redundancies. Two full-time members of staff are in consultation with the company.

A spokesman for the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said the paper, which supplies sports fans with news, results and match reports on a Saturday evening, has been "left slowly to rot".

'Readers' habits changed'

In a statement, Trinity Mirror said that after 13 May the Birmingham Mail will publish the Sports Argus as part of its main paper on Saturdays and Mondays.

The newspaper group also blamed declining sales on "a huge reduction in the number of sporting fixtures kicking off at 1500 BST on a Saturday".

Its decision to merge it with the Birmingham Mail follows a number of other newspapers also halting production of stand-alone sports papers.

Birmingham Mail editor Steve Dyson said: "The Argus has been a big part of the West Midlands sporting scene for many years, and I would like to thank staff past and present for their great efforts.

"But football has changed, readers' habits have changed and we're changing with them.

"However, we will continue to offer unrivalled coverage of sport in the West Midlands."