1729 to 2013: a proud record for the Salisbury Journal.

Bill Browne, the editor, recounted the lives of its owners, particularly that of Benjamin Collins, who set up the newspaper destined to become the fifth oldest in the country, to his U3A audience.

Its original four large broadsheet pages carried news from the capital and the paper was sold over a wide area ranging from Oxford to the Channel Islands, including London.

Mr Collins, a newspaper publisher, bookseller and printer eventually became a wealthy gentleman banker. By the time of his death in 1785 he had put Salisbury firmly on the map.

Mr Browne, who began his career in Southampton, has experienced vast changes in the technology used in the newspaper industry.

Hot lead, wet paper, noise and a smell like a foundry have given way to computers, and most of our newspapers are owned by large corporations now. But the editor remains in control of the content.

Mr Browne spoke of the importance of trust between people and press, and relationships with the police, for example.

Despite recent clashes he felt that a need remains for vital questions, particularly at local level, to be asked and debated in local papers.

Some feel the end is in sight for newspapers but Mr Browne pointed out that though there is a slight decline for the Journal in print an increasing readership is using the website.

The pace of change in technology is breathtaking but there will always be a demand for news.