The Chronicle press

In 1858 the Newcastle Chronicle had been re-
launched as the Newcastle Daily Chronicle but, when a commitment to daily publication proved too onerous, it was sold to Joseph Cowen.   Cowen, J.[?] Letter to G.O. Trevelyan[?] [n.d.] Manuscript Album, 189 ii
The newspaper was already well-established as a political vehicle, with a middle-class readership and influence over the Whigs. Cowen invested heavily in the paper and launched the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle - printed on a new rotary press and including sports reports, serialised literature, and features on mining communities and co-operatives. By 1873, daily sales exceeded 40,000 and it claimed to be the largest-selling regional newspaper. The Evening Chronicle launched in 1885.7
The repeal of tax on advertisements, duty on paper, and stamp on news led to the increased production of newspapers and Cowen took full advantage.8 He used the newspaper to garner support for the establishment of a College of Science in Newcastle; for selling the benefits of his Co-Operative Union; publicising the take-up, by prospective employees, of shares in the Ouseburn [engineering] Works; to highlight the plight of female agricultural workers; and, generally, to promote radical causes.9 The Chronicle press allowed him to influence public opinion significantly.