Thetford’s local independent community magazine, About Thetford, celebrates 20 years since its first publication in August 2005 this month.
When the first edition of About Thetford landed on doormats in August 2005, it was a modest black-and-white publication with a two-colour cover, packed with local listings and a few short features. Fast forward to today and the magazine celebrates its 20th year, as a full-colour, publication at the heart of Thetford life.
When Trevor and Marje officially took over from issue 8 in May 2006, the magazine still had to be ran to the printers on a CD at 3am! Marje focused on community stories while Trevor managed design and production. Together, they built a loyal readership, championing local causes and featuring much-loved content such as Past and Present and TGAC’s Garden Notes.
In 2014, Terry Jermy took the reins, maintaining its focus on positive local news, expanding the magazine’s distribution to surrounding villages. Karen-Emma White joined in 2016, creating a new website and took on the mantle of Editor a year ago, alongside launching the About Thetford App.
“I started writing for About Thetford in 2007, during my days at Ancient House. The support the magazine gave the museum was invaluable and I’m delighted it remains so. Becoming the editor is a privilege, for 20 years we’ve been a mainstay in the town, and will continue to innovate and remain committed to supporting our community.”
In November last year, George Cooke joined the team as Deputy Editor, fresh from a Journalism degree at the University of East Anglia. Almost every story is now posted on the About Thetford website, as well as social media, meaning there’s more ways to read About Thetford than ever.
“Whilst it’s important to stay up to date with modern techniques and technology, the joy of working at About Thetford is the commitment to classic free-to-access print journalism, which is such a valuable local resource,” he said. “The town is very important to me, and it’s brilliant to feel so connected to our community. I hope the magazine helps our readers feel the same way.”
Today, About Thetford remains a vital part of the town’s community life as the only free magazine of its type in the town. Each month About Thetford promotes over 100 local advertisers, as well as covering a wide range of local stories and regular much loved columns.
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