VIDEO:Warrington Borough Council Chief Executive Steven Broomhead took a trip down memory lane as he reflected on the changes which have taken place in the town over the past 20 years, since the launch of the first independent online news service in the country in 1999.
Describing warrington-worldwide as the “social glue of the town” Mr Broomhead praised the publication for the way it had adapted to changes in the media over the years and for being “a fair and critical friend of the town.”
“The media has changed and hardly anybody buys newspapers now – newsagents can’t even deliver one to the town hall anymore,” he said.
Mr Broomhead, who first arrived in Warrington as the youngest principal in the country at Warrington Collegiate in 1994, later becoming chief executive at the council in 1997, before moving on to the North West Development Agency, returning to the town hall in 2012, says the internet has been the biggest change over the past 20 years.
“We have had to learn to react to instant media and to change the way we respond,” he said.
Another big change had been the development of the Omega site, which six years ago was little more than a disused airfield but now had created 6,000 new jobs.
Mr Broomhead concluded that warrington-worldwide had adapted well to change, played an important role in the success of Warrington and been a “great advocate of Warrington.”
Twenty years of warrington-worldwide online coincides with the 20th anniversary of Lymm Life magazine, the first of six local publications published by local publishers Orbit News, who celebrated their 50th anniversary last year.
warrington-worldwide magazine will be celebrating 20 years in the town this coming September.
Anyone with a news story or a business to promote in the town should email [email protected]
1 Comment
Good interview Gary but what happened to the next 20 years question – what was the answer – you’ll just have to go back in again.