I notice this has been under review since 2014 - has their been any progress?

I agree. The Gateshead Observer is an extremely important newspaper for anyone researching their family history in the North East.

Agreed. Gateshead Observer is an important North East title - arguably the most important for the period 1837 to 1867. See this article: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14616700600680856?journalCode=rjos20

This is a landmark publication in the history of Gateshead, it was the first newspaper to be published in the town and as such is of vital importance to anyone who has an interest in the history of the North East in the nineteenth century.