THE Western Morning News is to mark its 150th anniversary with a new look, following plans revealed this week.

The news comes as parent company Northcliffe Media South West and Wales announced the merger of a number of operations, which will see WMN editor Alan Qualtrough become editor-in-chief of the South West's leading newspaper titles.

Mr Qualtrough will oversee production of the Plymouth-based WMN and Bristol-based sister title the Western Daily Press, as editor-in-chief.

The move – which will see the Western Morning News remain unique to the Westcountry and maintain its focus upon delivering first-class regional news – is part of a restructuring plan that will partly merge the papers' production operations.

Both newspapers will keep their own reporting and feature writing teams.

Mr Qualtrough said: "This is an exciting project to relaunch two newspapers for the modern market.

"We believe the changes we are proposing will have a positive effect on both the Western Morning News and the Western Daily Press."

Mike Norton, editor-in-chief of the Wales and West titles, said: "These are structural changes which will have a positive effect on the Western Daily Press. While the paper's content will not change, it will be driven by a new content desk with a radar screen covering the entire South West."

Production roles including sub-editing will be shared across both titles, with the transfer of a number of roles to WMN's Plymouth base.