History of the Jersey Evening Post
1890 - 2004
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W. E. Guiton |
Although the Jersey Evening Post is now part of a diverse multi-million pound group of companies its beginnings were modest. It was acquired only weeks after its launch - by H P Butterworth - by Walter Guiton, the man whose small business printed it. Carrying only advertising on its front page, the paper was produced sheet by sheet on a flatbed press.
That technology ruled until 1926, when the first rotary press was introduced, an operation which was proudly overseen by Mr Guiton, who remained very much in charge as proprietor and editor until the following year, when his son-in-law, Arthur Harrison, succeeded him in those roles. Mr Harrison held both positions until he was succeeded by his son, Arthur G Harrison, in 1944.
The period when the two Mr Harrisons were in control might not have seen much in the way of technical change but part of it was undoubtedly the most trying and testing in the newspaper's history.
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German officers at the JEP |
From 1940 to 1945, the Channel Islands were occupied by the German armed forces, and although publication of the paper continued, it was produced under the supervision and strict censorship of the occupying forces.
After the Liberation on 9 May 1945, Jersey prospered, thanks largely to a burgeoning tourist industry. The newspaper also grew, and in 1957 it became the key element in a new business entity called W E Guiton and Co Ltd.
It can be argued that the shift from a purely traditional family-run firm to a modern commercial undertaking was completed in 1973, shortly after the paper was advertised for sale by Mr Harrison, who had been stunned and disillusioned by the prospect of a threatened printers' strike. It was at that point that Frank Walker, great-grandson of Walter Guiton, stepped in, determined that control of the newspaper would remain in the Island. Sufficient shareholders supported his takeover bid and he duly became managing director.
Mr Walker realised that hot metal technology made the JEP vulnerable to more advanced competition, so in May 1977 three crucial moves were made. The entire operation was shifted from its old buildings in Charles Street, St Helier - Jersey's capital - to new premises on the edge of town. At the same time, the format was changed from broadsheet to tabloid and the latest photocomposition technology was introduced.
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Since then, the JEP has kept pace with changes in newspaper production, introducing a Norsk Data electronic editorial system in the late 1980s and full-page makeup, based on a Quark Xpress pagination system, plus in-house colour scanning in the early 1990s.
That process continued in February 2002 with the introduction of the Edit.works editorial system which, for the first time, provides the JEP with comprehensive text management of articles from the point of creation through to page make-up.
The new system, which also provides a database and archive, can be utilised for electronic publications and will shortly be extended to the JEP's website as well as the Guiton Group's niche publishing division, MSP Publishers, which produces magazines including Business Brief and Jersey Now.
The Guiton Group has, meanwhile, continued to expand its interests in publishing, newspaper distribution, retailing and information technology. At the end of 1998, it made its first newspaper acquisition with the merger of the Guernsey Evening Press and Star, the JEP's equivalent in the second largest of the Channel Islands.
As part of the Guiton Group. the Jersey Evening Post and its sister newspaper in Guernsey, the Guernsey Press and Star, were taken over by the Wolverhampton based Claverley Group in 2004.
Claverley, a privately owned group with interests in publishing, retailing, printing and computer systems, was already firmly established as a major Guiton shareholder when the JEP's founding family decided to relinquish control of the newspaper after 113 years.
Postal Address: PO Box 582, Jersey, Channel Islands, JE4 8XQ