The Real West Dorset blog has a detailed statement from Philip Evans, founder of the free weekly newspaper series View From, which publishes titles in the West Dorset area, about the future of the group.

According to Evans, eight titles will be bought by an as yet unnamed businessman from outside the newspaper industry. Evans and his wife will remain working with the company, which went into administration last week following a downturn in advertising revenue, according to a statement on its website.

Aside from the update on the business, Evans’ comments on the newspaper situation in the south west and his experience as an entrepreneurial publisher are worth reading:

“I am proud of what we achieved at the View over the past five years. If the businesses in West Dorset want an alternative to the previous Newsquest monopoly, then hopefully they will support the View papers in the future.

“No one else will ever challenge this monopoly. None of the other big newspaper groups are likely to challenge them and entrepreneurial publishers like myself are a dying – if not extinct – breed.”

Full post and hat tip to the Real West Dorset blog for this post.