Behind Local News Weekly: The website trying to do news differently

Hello,

Welcome to your weekly Behind Local News newsletter. This week’s long read has been with us for a few weeks now. We wanted to wait for a week when we could ensure it got the attention it deserved — and hopefully, this is that week.

Adam Lord, editor of Manchester World, is building up a brand in a city which already has plenty of local news options. His focus is telling the stories of ordinary people. And his team plan to do it with flare across social media too.

Elsewhere, we’ve news on how local news brands are continuing to support communities in the wake of the violence which hit towns around the UK earlier this month.

We also have a bumper crop of local journalism vacancies this week across the country.

Finally, while there has been praise from Government in the last week about the role local journalism has been playing in showing people being prosecuted for the violence, there has also been a high-profile reminder of how precarious local journalism business models can be. The Lincolnite, which blazed a trail as one of the first commercial hyperlocal sites to launch 14 years ago, announced it had closed late last week.

Thanks for reading,

Behind Local News

New stories this week:

• Pioneering hyperlocal news site folds after 14 years: The Lincolnite, founded Daniel Ionescu, confirmed it had ceased trading this week, with nine jobs lost. Read more here.
• Calls for open justice to be improved as Government praises riots court reporting: Journalists have been praised for ensuring that justice is being seen to be done in the wake of riots across England and Northern Ireland this month. Read more here.
• Bedford Independent vows to play part in protecting area’s diverse communities: The Bedford Independent signed a statement prepared by Islam Bedford, which brought together organisations from across the area in the wake of violent protests and riots around the UK. Read more here.
• Newsroom urges city to keep resisting ‘racist voices of hate’: The Great Central Gazette, based in Leicester, warned that fake news was the trigger for racist and Islamophobic rioting across England and Northern Ireland — and that it would work to counteract that in the East Midlands city. Read more here.
• Reporter offers to help people struggling in wake of hate-fuelled riots: A journalist has offered to support people experiencing Islamophobia and other forms of race hate as communities continue to come to terms with the far-right protests which took place across the UK. Read more here.

Good news this week:

• Congratulations to the team at Blog Preston, who have teamed up with local fanzine the Nose Bag to provide Preston North End coverage on their site for the first time.
• The team at the Liverpool Echo have played a huge part in the setting up a charity aimed at continuing the inspirational legacy of Dan Kay, a colleague who was at the heart of the Hillsborough justice campaign for many years.
• And entries are now open for next year’s Regional Press Awards. You can find out more here.

Now hiring

Each week, we’ll share some of the latest jobs in local news which have been sent to us. If you have one to promote, please contact us here

• AI-assisted reporter — Newsquest (Suffolk)
• Audience and content editor — Swindon Advertiser
• Digital Reporter — Southern Daily Echo
• Engagement and Distribution Editor — South West (Maternity cover)
• Live reporter — Ipswich Star
• Local Democracy Content Editor — MyLondon
• Personal finance trending reporter — Newsquest
• Reporter — SurreyLive
• Reporter — Manchester Evening News
• Senior sports Journalist — Newsquest (Bournemouth)
• Social Video Journalist — BristolLive
• Social Video Journalist — BirminghamLive
• Social Video Journalist — WalesOnline
• Social Video Journalist — Liverpool Echo
• Social Video Journalist — ChronicleLive
• Sports Editor — Impartial Reporter
• Sports Reporter — Worcester News
• Trainee Digital Reporter — Ipswich
• Trainee Reporter — Northern Echo
• Trainee Multimedia Reporter — Tavistock
• Whats On Editor — Liverpool Echo

How to do local news differently? Focus on ordinary people

In a city which isn’t short of local news options, one brand is setting out to do things differently. Manchester World editor Adam Lord shares the plans to put his brand on the map…

Manchester is packed. And I don’t just mean your tram. Or your favourite boozer.

I’m talking media.

The diversity of media in the city reflects the northern powerhouse it has become.

Whether it’s the Manchester Evening News or The Mill, the people of the city are more than well-served depending on what they want from their local news outlet.

When we sat down five months ago that was the task with Manchester World — finding it a true place in a city that had just about everything. Only two-and-a-half years old and with some fantastic work already having been done as I first laid it out to the team, we wanted to properly carve out our own spot.

We were covering a lot of the stuff you’d expect from a local news website but my thought was always ‘how can we approach it differently?’. Every time I kept coming back to people.

From there ‘Ordinary Mancs, Extraordinary Stories’ was born.

There are so many brilliant people taking the city to new heights and so many stories to be told on every corner of the 10 boroughs that make up the city region. Whether it’s the new developments springing up all the time, the world-class culture, or rich heritage, the possibilities are pretty endless.

The Manchester World team plan to cover Manchester differently

But now we had our focus. New shop opening — let’s talk to the person taking the leap and get to the heart of it. Your favourite pub winning an award — let’s try and have a pint with the landlord.

I can hear the noises at the back of ‘this is how it’s always been done’. And I’ll hold my hands up and admit that in a way it’s a bit back to the future — but we can bring that kind of storytelling into the era of TikTok and make it front and centre once again.

A people focus lends itself to having faces on camera too and that will be a big area for us. That goes for people we’re chatting to and the Manchester World team themselves.

In the internet age it does feel at times like we’ve become a bit detached from the public we serve — but this is a means of trying to re-engage. We haven’t got a reception to our high street office like the good old days — although people can come and see us on the 23rd floor of our City Tower HQ high above the city — so making our faces known will be key.

Manchester World operates from offices with a stunning view of the city centre

Studies show that people engage with trusted faces on camera far more than the little logo of the brand in the corner. Just ask any even half-successful influencer.

And by doing the stuff people in the streets of Manchester do, and trying out things they are interested in, we can show we’re ‘Ordinary Mancs’ too.

In a bid to cater for everyone we’ve also worked hard on crafting a new weekly newsletter for those that maybe want to escape the noise of social and are a bit ground down by the news cycle.

It will land in inboxes once a week every Friday, hopefully providing a real service. It will include our top stories but also our favourite reads from elsewhere, the latest from United and City — a big focus for the site — and a look ahead to the weekend for those in need of something to do or try out.

Beyond the content, social and newsletter shift it’s all come with a rebrand thanks to MNA Digital. The logo is very Manchester — both in colour and design — and sits nicely on the hoodies that the team are now proud owners of.

Or so they tell me.

Doing this ground up has been rewarding and has given the small, but perfectly-formed team a real purpose about where we sit in Manchester and what we can do differently to stand out from the crowd. Telling those extraordinary stories about ordinary Mancs.