East Lothian is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative capital is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh.
East Lothian is also a traditional county, known as Haddingtonshire until 1921. As such, it borders Midlothian to the west, and Berwickshire to the south.
Towns and villages
Places of interest
Famous Sons & Daughters
Arthur Balfour, Prime Minister, 1902-1905.
Local media
East Lothian is served by two local paid-for weekly newspapers, the East Lothian Courier and the East Lothian News. Both are published on Friday.
The Courier, the best-selling of the two, began life as the Haddingtonshire Courier in 1859, presumably updating its title when the county changed its name in 1921. The family firm of D.J. Croal, based in Haddington, owned and operated the paper and two other titles in southern Scotland. Border Weeklies remained independent for much of its history, but was bought by the Dunfermline Press Group in 2004. This resulted in a change of printers and format, moving from the 'midi' size to a tabloid. The long-held boast of being "the only newspaper printed and published in East Lothian", which featured on the masthead, also had to be dropped when printing moved from Haddington to Cumbria (although editorial staff remain in Haddington). This necessitated an earlier deadline for readers' letters, although the newspaper was enhanced with the addition of colour photographs and text for the first time. Regular features of the Courier include court reports, pages from the major towns (Haddington, North Berwick, Tranent , Dunbar and Musselburgh), a round-up of village activities, and coverage of local amateur sport.
The East Lothian News was first published in 1972, as part of Scottish County Press group, with editorial offices in Dalkeith and printing at Bonnyrigg (both in Midlothian). SCP was acquired by Regional Independent Media in 2000, which was in turn bought by Johnston Press in 2002. The News is also in tabloid format, and has used colour photos for many years. The content is often very similar to the Courier, often including identical readers' letters, and covering the same local events.
East Lothian Life is a quarterly glossy magazine, sold by subscription and in newsagents, and produced by an independent PR company based in Dunbar. The content is mainly lifestyle features related to the county, including articles on local businesses and attractions, profiles of prominent people, activities such as sport and walking in the area, and historical pieces.
External links
Last updated: 06-01-2005 22:53:30
