A decision not taken lightly

Regular readers will have spotted that the price of your Saturday Scotsman has increased by 5p from today.

Price rises are never welcome and this is not a decision we take lightly.

This represents a 2.5 per cent rise on the cover price – roughly in line with inflation.

A combination of factors is at work. Seeing so many people turn to quality news providers in the aftermath of the Brexit vote has been reassuring, but the challenging environment in which journalism operates will not have escaped you. The cost of newsprint alone has risen by 10 per cent.

£2.05 is not an attractive price point but it was important to me that the rise was as small as possible. We also know many of you buy The Scotsman through vouchers, or with other items in the supermarket so the extra 5p will not have everyone reaching for loose change.

As a thank you to regular readers, we are freezing the price of an annual subscription. So there has never been a better time to sign up as a regular reader.

As ever I value your feedback enormously. If you have any thoughts please email me at frank. odonnell@jpress.co.uk.