WE are looking for readers of The Oxford Times to help us shape the future of the newspaper as it prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

This is an exciting time in the history of The Oxford Times.

It is pushing back the boundaries of the digital media world with its website, oxfordtimes.co.uk, and its new App for the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices.

But the newspaper itself is as important as it has ever been and we are opening up the debate about its future development to you, the people who know it best and value it the most.

Next month, we will be hosting a number of focus groups for readers at which we want to hear your views.

Dates are flexible and meetings will be held in a central Oxford location and take no longer than two hours.

In return for your valuable feedback, we will give you £25. Light refreshments will also be provided.

Editor Simon O’Neill said: “The Oxford Times is part of the fabric of our county. Newspapers and the media in general have changed enormously over recent years, but the need to give people news, sport and information that is timely and relevant remains the same.

“That is why we are opening up these focus groups to our readers so they can be involved in the newspaper’s future, which I have no doubt is a very bright one.”

We are hoping to hear from readers who buy The Oxford Times every week and also those who buy it more irregularly.

The Oxford Times’s newspaper sales manager, Tom Mitchell, said: “I’ve always regarded our company as custodians of our newspaper titles, because they really belong to the community.

“That is especially true for such an historic title as The Oxford Times, which has been reporting news and events in the county for 150 years.

“September 6 is the paper’s 150th birthday and it is an apt time for us to invite the readers to help us improve what we think is an already great newspaper. We will not be here in 150 years but The Oxford Times will be and so these focus groups are a real opportunity to shape it for the future.”

If you are interested in taking part, act now as places are limited. Email tom.mitchell@ oxfordtimes.co.uk, telephone him on 01865 425377 or write to him at Tom Mitchell, Focus Groups, The Oxford Times, Newspaper House, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0EJ.

We look forward to hearing from you.