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![]() Front cover, December 2009 | |
Type | Monthly newspaper |
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Format | Online and compact |
Publisher | Ministry of Defence |
Editor | Lorraine Proudlock |
News editor | Richard Hargreaves |
Founded | 1954 |
Headquarters | HMS Excellent |
City | Portsmouth |
Country | UK |
Circulation | 35,000 copies per month (as of July 2017)[1] |
Readership | c.100,000 |
ISSN | 0028-1670 |
OCLC number | 70249744 |
Website | www |
Navy News is the official newspaper of the British Royal Navy, produced by a small team of editorial and support staff and published by the Ministry of Defence on a monthly basis.
The content of the newspaper is varied, ranging from information for all serving personnel of whatever rank or specialisation to Sea Cadets and former shipmates. Members of the public with an interest in the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and the Fleet Air Arm also have access to the newspaper.
The newspaper is distributed free to serving personnel (ratio 1:5), and is available to members of the public through subscription or through a newsagent. Up to 35,000 copies are printed each month.
Navy News includes sections on news; special features; sport; book reviews; association news; people; charity work; Fleet Focus (where the ships are deployed); 2-6 (for serving personnel); letters and the very popular noticeboard (on which readers can search for old shipmates, notify deaths and reunions or ask a question).
In 1998 it was decided to create a website which has been running ever since. It always includes regularly updated news stories as well as notifying readers about reunions; people searches and other features.
In April 2007, the first free digital edition of Navy News was launched on the website, and each edition since then has appeared giving free access to readers worldwide; to date over 300 editions have been uploaded.
Another popular innovation is the recording of sections of the Navy News, initially recorded onto 90-minute tapes, but now recorded digitally onto memory sticks with no restriction on length of time. This is then distributed by the Portsmouth Area Talking News to visually impaired persons for free, through the ‘Articles for the Blind’ scheme all over the world.