Shropshire Star (Shropshire Star)

Member Name: polydeuces

Product:	Shropshire Star
Date:	06/08/08 (18 review reads)
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The Shropshire Star is published weekly and costs just 30p. A tabloid in size it has a full 60 pages so there is quite a lot in it.

I have read a number of local or regional papers and the Shropshire Star is different from the fairly standard format of the others in that the local and national, even international news, is not strictly segregated. It is possible therefore to find a story about the recovery of a stolen camcorder in Telford next to one about NHS waiting lists.
Overall this does give the feeling that local news is equal on a scale of importance with a national story. A jumble sale in Broseley is as important to some people as whether Dixons are trading fairly with respect to PCs and litter in Albrighton is as newsworthy as developments involving the Hubble space telescope.

The Shropshire Star has literally hundreds of small local interest stories scattered throughout its pages. I have read other local newspapers which have grouped such stories together under headings for each local area or village but the Star does not do this encouraging a longer read of the news. For some this might be good but others might not have the time to read the paper so extensively and miss stories.
There is no doubt that the Star covers matters a wide range of matters but it does not appear to cover anything in any particular depth. It is more like a finger buffet of stories than a feast. At present it is rightly dominated by the foot and mouth story and informatively lists all the affected farms. It covers a number of aspects including the important side issues like animal disposal, tourism etc.

Shropshire is hardly a hotbed for sport but the county does have a Nationwide League team in Shrewsbury Town. Coverage of the side is given as well as nearby Wolverhampton. The other main local team is Telford United of the Conference.
Some coverage is given of sport further afield in the UK and also world events like the Masters golf. The journalism here is of a very high standard and is not as clichéd as you would find for example in the Sun or The Mirror.
There are reports, results and tables of the minor football leagues. There is also comprehensive coverage of horse racing as of course Ludlow racecourse is in the county.

As would be expected there is a lot of averts for local companies goods and services and of vacancies in the county. Also there are comprehensive listings of local entertainment events in the county. As it is not too far from Birmingham this includes the events due at the NEC like Westlife, Roxy Music, Texas and The Corrs during April and into June.
The Shropshire Star is a very good newspaper and is ideal for weekend read. It is entertaining, well written and edited. It is a little bit quirky in the way it jumbles stories up but this perhaps adds to its charm.

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