Country Life out on Wednesdays

A 111-year-old tradition will change next week (May 7). Country Life magazine, the voice of the countryside, is to be published a day earlier on a Wednesday – in response to a growing appetite for news on rural issues as the future of the countryside becomes a hot topic for debate.

The magazine will now be turning round country news stories and features faster than any other weekly publication focusing on rural issues. According to Mark Hedges, its editor, this will enable the magazine to be more responsive in its crusade to push the countryside near the top of the news and political agenda, encouraging people to enjoy the countryside, while highlighting threats from potential over-development, bureaucratic interference and lack of investment.

Mark Hedges said: ‘We realise that, like News at Ten, Country Life out on a Thursday has become part of our reader’s lives. To change the publication date after 111 years is not a decision to be taken lightly. However, changes in technology now mean that the magazine will go to press on a Monday and be published on Wednesdays, enabling us respond quickly to new issues in our continuing campaign to safeguard the future of the countryside.’