Iconic Media expands presence with acquisition of family-owned title
Regional magazine was founded in 1939
Regional publisher Iconic Media has continued its expansion in the North of England with the purchase of a long-established regional magazine brand.
Iconic, owner of the Yorkshire Post, has announced the acquisition of The Dalesman, which has circulated in the county since 1939.
Based in Skipton, the magazine has been family-owned for most of its existence and since 2022 has been edited by Mick Smith.
Founded in 1939 by former Leeds journalist Harry J. Scott, it has built a loyal readership over generations through its coverage of Yorkshire people, heritage, countryside and communities and currently has a subscriber base of 17,000.
The acquisition adds The Dalesman to Iconic's growing portfolio of established newsbrands in Yorkshire and the wider region, including the YP, Yorkshire Evening Post, Whitby Gazette and Harrogate Advertiser.
Chief executive Malcolm Denmark said: "The Dalesman is one of the great regional publishing brands in the UK and we are very pleased to bring it into the Iconic Media group.
"This gives us an opportunity to continue investing in quality journalism and content focused on Yorkshire, its countryside, its communities and, most importantly, its readers.
"We see significant opportunities to build on the success of The Dalesman while respecting the qualities that have made it such an enduring and trusted title.”
Dalesman managing director David Proud added: "We have been a successful family business with a fantastic community of loyal readers and supporters for many years.
"We are pleased that The Dalesman is becoming part of another family business which already has a strong presence and commitment to Yorkshire. We look forward to working with the Iconic Media team and to building on everything that makes The Dalesman special."
The Dalesman will continue to operate from Skipton and maintain its strong editorial focus on Yorkshire people, places, history and culture.
The announcement follows the launch of Iconic's ‘Project 50’ recruitment drive to hire 50 new journalists including new editors for the Harrogate Advertiser and Doncaster Free Press.
New job opportunities for editors, news editors and reporters are currently being advertised on HTFP and can be found here.
