THE last remaining daily national newspaper office in Aberdeen has closed, ending a link with the city going back more than half a century.
The city centre offices of the Daily Record in Union Street were cleared today, with its remaining reporter, Charlie Gall, now working from his home in Aberdeenshire.
Moves to close the office began a year when the Record’s Aberdeen bureau chief, Bob Dow, was made redundant. The office first opened 56 years ago and at one stage had ten editorial, circulation and back office staff.
The Herald closed its Aberdeen office just over a year ago when Graeme Smith took redundancy and The Scotsman’s Aberdeen staffman, Frank Urquhart, works from the offices of the Mearns Leader weekly paper in Stonehaven, 15 miles south of the city.
The Daily Mail and Daily Express also used to have operations in the city.
In addition to Gall and Dow, Record reporters to have worked at the paper’s Aberdeen office over the years include Ron Main, Jimmy Gillespie, Nick Hunter, Graham Ironside, Norman Adams and Ian Cameron.
Photographers once based there include John Harris, Peter Turner and Robert Paterson. Its sports writers over the years include Jimmy Menzies, Len Findlay and Ian Broadley.
Its sister paper, the Sunday Mail, also formerly had staff there, including Ron Flockart, David MacDonald, Ted Kidd and Steve McKenzie.
Aberdeen still has two news agencies while the DC Thomson-owned Sunday Post also has an office.
