Over seven decades, the staff have seen many changes in the way the newspapers were produced, from letterpress to web printing, to direct editorial input in the late 1980s and 1990s, and culminating in the 21st century ideal of editorial page make-up.

The Arbroath Herald was founded by John Brodie, a Borderer who came from Selkirk, where he was born in 1846. In his native town he served an apprenticeship with the firm of George Lewis & Son, printers, stationers and booksellers. They published the Southern Reporter and he became its manager. After 19 years he left Selkirk in 1877 to take up the managership of Aberdeen University Press.

He stayed in Aberdeen for just over two years and moved to Arbroath in 1880 to take over the stationer's business previously carried on in the shop on the ground floor of the Guildry Building in the High Street by John Moncrieff.

Within two weeks of starting up in business in Arbroath, disaster struck. The premises in the High Street were destroyed by fire. Undaunted, John Brodie rebuilt for the purpose of setting up his shop and printing works the property at 10 and 12 Brothock Bridge.

When the title was first published by John Brodie on February 5, 1885, it had four pages. However, the second issue revealed the paper enlarged to six pages, and after but 12 weeks the page size was considerably enlarged.



The Arbroath Herald was a free newspaper in those early days, and it continued to be published gratis until September, 1887, when it assumed the fully-fledged status of an eight-page paper, selling at one penny.
It was at this time that John Brodie, who had been printer, editor and publisher from the paper's inception, was joined in partnership by James Boath Salmond. Together the pair formed the firm of Brodie & Salmond, with their headquarters in the stationer's shop at 10 Brothock Bridge and the newspaper office behind.

J. B. Salmond became editor of the Herald, and a new era in the paper was started. Following J. B. Salmond's death, John Brodie carried on the business and the newspaper, and the stationer's shop, well-nigh alone. The turn of the century was a sad time for John Brodie. His only son, who was being trained to the business, died at the age of 21. Within a year his partner and friend had also died.

But John Brodie had a daughter coming up to assist him. Margaret Brodie was 24 when the first editor died, and she began to help her father in the editorial side of the business.

For a year or two in the first decade of the century, Mr Brodie brought in a Mr James Bruce Small to help in editing the paper, but he did not stay long, and Miss Brodie took an ever-increasing share in the editorship.

In 1920, when he was 74, John Brodie decided to retire. A company, the Arbroath Herald Ltd., was formed, with the founder as chairman of directors.

In the meantime, a dynamic young man, George Black Lowe, had come into the business as a paper boy. The ageing founder readily took to the lad, and a father/son relationship developed, with the young G.B. becoming indispensable in the firm and almost part of the Brodie household. After the death of John Brodie, his daughter and G.B. ran the business together.

One of the most prestigious of the publications founded by the Margaret Brodie/George Lowe partnership was the Book of The Braemar Gathering. Mr Lowe's long connection with the Royal Gathering was recognised when Her Majesty The Queen appointed him to be a member of the Royal Victorian Order in 1982.

George Lowe went on to become managing director. He was joined soon after by Edward S. Nicoll, who became a linotype operator and after a splendid career as a navigating officer in the R.A.F. during the Second World War when he won the Distinguished Flying Cross, he returned to the firm as office manager.

In 1949, George S. Shepherd joined the firm as assistant to Miss Brodie, and when that remarkable lady died in 1958 at the age of 81, Mr Shepherd succeeded as editor and became a director of the firm, progressing to managing director and chairman prior to selling the business to Johnston Press in 1999, a year or so before his death in November, 2000.

The centenary of the Arbroath Herald in 1985 was celebrated in style. National newspapers carried stories of the anniversary, Grampian Television gave the event extensive coverage in a number of broadcasts, the BBC featured the event on Pebble Mill, at One' and in a radio interview with the Editor on BBC Scotland in the late afternoon, and Radio Tay carried several items of news about the newspaper's birthday throughout the day.

After its centenary, The Herald continued to prosper and, in 1999, the Herald and its sister paper, the Guide & Gazette, became part of the expanding Johnston Press empire. Johnston's, according to reports, paid £1.9 million for the newspaper.

Mrs Muriel Steven remained as editor, taking over from Mr Shepherd, who retired. However, she, too, decided to call it a day and a new editor, Colin Hume, was appointed in September, 1999.

After about a year in post, he returned to Fife as editor of the Kingdom's flagship paper, The Fife Free Press. He is now the group editor for Scotland, as well as being in charge of one of the largest selling weeklies in the country, The Falkirk Herald.

His successor was Craig Nisbet, who had previously been the deputy editor of the St Andrews Citizen, another title in the Fife stable. Mr Nisbet was in the editor's chair for six years, presiding over a major change for the Herald as it featured front page news for the first time in its history in 2004. He chose to pursue other business interests in publishing and resigned from the post in October, 2006.

Brian Stormont, who had previously worked at the Arbroath Herald as a reporter from 1989 to 2002 before joining the Glenrothes Gazette, returned as editor in January 2007.