The Hamilton Advertiser covers news in Hamilton and the surrounding areas. It is owned by Scottish…read moreand Universal Newspapers who own a number of local publications including The Lennox Herald and The Wishaw Press. It has all the usual local newspaper suspects such as births deaths and marriages. The newspaper also provides the most extensive coverage of the Hamilton Accies football team who play in the Scottish Premier League. The newspaper office is handily situated in the centre of Hamilton, close to the train station.

Better than average local paper which thankfully hasn't been affected too badly by the recent cuts…read moremade by its owners, Scottish and Universal Newspapers. This is because, while others have seen their face-to-face contact with the public eliminated by office closures, Hamilton is the location of the central office and as a result the Advertiser retains its local presence. As well as the usual fare, the paper excels with its well-informed sports coverage, particularly in terms of local side, Hamilton Accies. Despite being an SPL club, national exposure remains criminally sparse meaning the Advertiser's coverage is vital and well-deserved.

Tommy Tango is a little corner shop in Whifflet main street that has the biggest selection of…read moresweets that you have ever seen. It sells loads of sweets by the quarter such as the old classics sweet peanuts, pear drops and Cola Cubes. I still feel like a kid when I go in to this shop and see all the jars of sweets lined up waiting to be measured out. Staff are nice and as well as sweets can buy other items including magazines etc. I stocked up recently with Cola Cubes and Pear Drops to make flavoured vodka's and the prices were really reasonable.

I used to write for The Motherwell Times before they moved to this new building. It's a good local…read morepaper. I'm semi-obsessed with local newspapers, always devouring one wherever I go. There was one in Northern Ireland that actually had in bold on one page 'Have you lost a dagger?' The Motherwell Times is getting skinnier and skinner, beefed up with alot of advertisements and profiting with the always birthday messages, usually with embarassing baby pictures in there. The news isn't particularly lively, with Motherwell still bearing the bruises of Thatcherism but the writers do a genuinely good job of covering local news including all things related to North Lanarkshire Council.

Motherwell Times, owned by the Johnston Press group, covers the news of Motherwell and the…read moresurrounding areas. Its office is handily situated in the centre of town. Most Johnston Press titles are situated in affluent areas and the stories tend to be of the "cats up trees" variety. However, the Motherwell Times covers some poverty stricken areas so the content tends to be harder news.

Even though this edition of the newspaper is entitled Carluke and Lanark, it only has a few pages…read moreat the front dedicated to the area with the rest of the paper the same as the Hamilton Advertiser. The Lanark office closed a few years ago so all the work is carried out in Hamilton, proving this area is not a priority for the advertiser. For more extensive coverage of Carluke and Lanark, I would recommend the Gazette, published by Johnston Press.