| Type | Free Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner | Tri-Media Publishing |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Headquarters | Abingdon, Oxfordshire |
The Oxford Journal was a free newspaper distributed throughout the city of Oxford and county of Oxfordshire, UK. It is published by TriMedia, who also publish other free newspapers including the Basingstoke Observer, Oxford Property Weekly and Auto Weekly. In December 2011 it was renamed the Oxfordshire Guardian in line with its two sister papers, launched in July 2011.
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The paper was launched in January 1973 from an old toy factory in Cowley and was arguably one of the first free newspapers in the United Kingdom. It was later sold to a local publishing company, Goodhead Press, who subsequently sold the paper to Courier Newspapers (Oxford) Ltd in 1996 which continued to publish the paper alongside its own one, the South Oxfordshire Courier. Both and Courier and Journal subsequently became owned by Milestone Group in 2003.
In 2004 the paper was renamed Courier Journal as part of a merger with the Courier to produce one paper covering Oxfordshire, but this did not last and in 2005 the paper was relaunched in Oxford as the Oxford City Journal, however in September 2006, the original title was reinstated after Milestone Group sold the Courier group to its managing director[1]. When owned by the Milestone Group the paper's sister publications included the magazine Oxfordshire Living.
On 3 January 2008, it was announced on that week's issue that the Oxford Journal would supersede its sister paper, the South Oxfordshire Courier.
There is also an Oxford Journal which has been published for more than 100 years in the small Nova Scotia town of Oxford, Canada. It has absolutely no link with the English Oxford Journal.