The BBC, tech platforms, UK riots and the end of a grumpy mayor: Stories from Behind Local News
Hello,
We hope your bank holiday weekend is going well (especially if you’re on a duty rota in a newsroom somewhere!)
Since we began the new Behind Local News newsletter earlier this year, we’ve been grateful for the feedback — positive and constructive — about the weekly dispatch. Above all, we want to create something you want to click on the moment it lands with you.
We’ve a lot planned for the last few months of 2024, including the launch of a new series called ‘In 10,’ inspired by the popularity of our Q&A with Alex Morrison, the author whose feature is among our picks below.
We’ll also be supporting Journalism Matters week when it’s held in October, and also have plans to celebrate public interest journalism before the year is out too.
Today, we’ve picked features from 10 of the newsletters we’ve sent so far. We’ve gone for a mix of the topics we’ve covered, from the serious — such as the BBC’s impact on local news, the role of tech platforms and, of course, this month’s riots — to others which sum up the essence of local journalism, such as our look at life working with Bristol’s not-always-press-friendly mayor.
We hope you enjoy them — and please do share this email on to anyone you think would also like to subscribe to Behind Local News.
Thanks, as always, for reading,
A top 10 of sorts: Features from Behind Local News so far this year
UK Riots: The stories from the frontline which remind us why local news matters so much
Our most recent long read, we looked back at 10 dark days in the UK, which began with the killing of three girls in Southport, a tragedy which was then hijacked by the far-right to spread hate around the UK. Local reporters found themselves on the frontline, reporting in real-time and challenged with tackling widespread disinformation circulating online, too.
What local media needs from the new Labour Government
While it’s essential local media remains independent of Government, there are steps the new Labour government can take to help ensure the future of local journalism in all of its guises. Writing for Behind Local News just after the election last month, NMA CEO Owen Meredith looked at what needs to happen next.
Why UK newsrooms are owed £1.9bn from the tech platforms
From afar, we followed two panels at the International Festival Journalism when it was held in Perugia back in April. Both looked the role of tech companies in news — with big claims about how much was owed to publishers
How staying true to 200-year-old principles helped carve new future for weekly newspaper
Sales growth, positive advertising trajectories and new readers right across the island of Ireland. Impartial Reporter editor Rodney Edwards shared the story behind his paper’s success
What can publishers learn from the independent news sector?
Jeremy Clifford finds traits, tactics and strategies at independent publishers which could work at some of local journalism’s biggest organisations
One last parting shot from the mayor who united a city’s journalists against him
Marking the end of the directly elected mayor role in Bristol. Why? For eight years, journalists in Bristol had to contend with a feisty approach to local media relations from the city council and mayor Marvin Rees. Now, however, the people of Bristol have voted for the role to be scrapped and in May, it was.
The infected blood story isn’t over. We’ll not stop until redress is received
For 24 years, The Journal in Newcastle has fought alongside victims of the Infected Blood Scandal for justice. On the week a 2,400-page report of an inquiry into the NHS’s darkest hour was produced, Sam Volpe looked at what covering such a story has meant for him and the journalists who have gone before him.
How could the BBC be a better neighbour?
Ed Walker looked at ways the BBC can deliver on its stated promise to work more closely with other parts of the local news sector
There’s a man in reception, wants to talk about his aubergines
When Alex Morrison posted a tweet reflecting on a special part of life as a local journalist — the perils of the reception walk-in — he ended up creating such a discussion that a book was born. There’s Someone in Reception is out now. It’s a brilliant read (the book, not the feature — you can decided on that!)
What happened when I invited two comedians into my newsroom
The thought of TV cameras in a newsroom is enough to strike fear into many editors — but not Joy Yates, who welcomed two comedians into her Cumbria newsroom — and doesn’t regret a thing (although is grateful some conversations caught on camera didn’t make the final cut).
