The week when working from home became the new normal for Britain’s local journalists
Last week was the week when newsrooms emptied and journalists began working from home as efforts to fight the spread of Coronavirus stepped up a gear. In our second report on local journalism’s response, we hear from editors on how their newsroom coped, what the new normal looks like — and the response from readers to the biggest story in many of our lifetimes…
For as long as anyone can remember, daily life in the newsroom has revolved around the conference table.
That changed shortly after 5pm on Monday, March 16 when prime minister Boris Johnson announced that if you could work from home, you should. Conference tables have since been swapped for kitchen tables, dressing tables, home desks and even ironing boards as journalists set about working from home for the foreseeable future.
Local journalism is an industry used to change, but it is change which normally comes about after months of planning. Arguably last week’s newsroom shift was the biggest change in working ever encountered — no-one can point to a time when nearly every newsroom in the country was evacuated and not relocated to another place for journalists to congregate.
“We’ve reinvented our newsroom to allow almost all of our staff to work remotely, while covering what is certainly one of the biggest news stories in a generation,” said Martin Wright, editor-in-chief of the Wolverhampton Express and Star and the Shropshire Star.
“It has been incredibly challenging at times — but also incredibly rewarding.
“What has surprised me is how smoothly we have been able to switch from physical to virtual newsroom. What hasn’t surprised me is the efforts of our editorial team — they have risen to the challenge admirably and without exception.”
Alastair Machray, editor-in-chief of the Liverpool Echo, said: “It’s the pace of change. Even in a lifetime in journalism I have never known a story move at this speed.
“The newsroom has become virtual. We have switched to homeworking and teleconferencing is now the normal meeting mode.”
David Powles, editor of the Eastern Daily Press and the Norwich Evening News, said it’s not just the change in working which has been so noticeable.
He said: “It’s remarkable how quickly this story has become very serious. Feels weird that only two weeks ago we were all pretty much carrying on as normal.
“Everyone has adapted to homeworking and staying in touch through video conferencing and the like very well. Bizarrely, the uniqueness of it all has helped keep spirits high.
“The last week has been non-stop. The challenge of trying to continue to operate as normal in terms of getting out content, while everyone works from home and battles their own take on this virus has been immense. The team have been fantastic though and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
George Oliver, editor of LeicestershireLive and Leicester Mercury said: “It’s been rather hectic, and we are dealing with multiple tests as we find them, but these tests have been overcome.
“On Wednesday we matched our print and online performance of the previous Wednesday. And we did so while dismantling our office and relocating staff to remote working. That was achieved because of our having professional people who want to deliver.”
Papers to be proud of — websites stronger than ever
Kerry Coupe, editor of the Rutland and Stamford Mercury on the Lincolnshire/Cambridgeshire border, said: “On Monday, it was business as usual in the newsroom but by Tuesday, we were all working from homes in different areas.
“We’ve communicated via Google Hangout and Google chat and all our work phones have been put on forward so we’re still receiving calls and conducting interviews. Thanks to technology, it’s been business as usual and hopefully our output has meant that readers and advertisers can’t tell what a challenge it has been.”
Asked what had surprised her most about the last week, Kerry added: “Kerry Coupe at the Stamford Mercury: “Honestly? How little sleep I can survive on! There have been some long days while we adjust to this new way of life and help keep our communities informed around the clock.
“What hasn’t surprised me is how resilient people can be — my team was certainly not keen on the idea of working remotely, but they have embraced it as best they can.
“As a result our website has been stronger than ever, and the papers that hit news shelves today are ones to be proud of. We just hope our readers and customers support us as they always have done by grabbing a copy as they race towards the toilet rolls!”
Paul Fisher, senior content editor at the Ardrossan Herald, Irvine Times, Ayr Advertiser and Cumnock Chronicle titles in Scotland, said: “We have went from a fully functioning newsroom to every single staff member working from home.
“Getting used to a new way of working and ensuring that everyone knows their roles is challenging. One positive challenge is reporters being so quick to get to work on stories that they have doubled up because they don’t have face to face communication.”
Katie Clark, Regional Audience and Content Editor at Newsquest, said: “I work with around eight different newsrooms and have been seen staff slickly move to home working with no real previous experience, without any noticeable disruption to coverage. It’s been frankly impressive.
“I know our reporters are amazing, hardworking and resilient, but their commitment to what is happening and getting the right messages to our communities has been outstanding. Local papers get a lot of stick, but our staff are incredible.”
Banter on a Hangout
Life working from home isn’t without its challenges, says Kerry Coupe in Stamford: “The biggest challenge has been making sure staff don’t feel alone and keeping the team spirit going.
“We have a lot of banter in our office and it’s hard to keep that up when you’re not in the same room and you have huge workloads to juggle. Everyone has gone the extra mile to support one another and as well as our own hangouts and chats, we’ve also been having hangouts with our commercial colleagues to try and keep up the office spirit.
“Our conversations certainly haven’t just revolved around what stories we’re working on!
“Other team members across Iliffe Media have also been extremely supportive — we’re all in one big boat together — and that has made me feel proud to work for this company and in this industry.”
That sense of virtual support has been critical in Dorset, said Katie Clark of Newsquest: “We’re used to newsroom banter and chatting about stories, sharing skills. Working alone, despite all the connections we have through various online means, is tough. We need to keep talking to our staff. They can’t just step away from the news, and this week, the news has been overwhelming.”
David Bartlett, editor-in-chief of CambridgeshireLive and the Cambridge News, concurs: “We moved quickly — virtually overnight — to become a home working operation.
“Working remotely is a new thing for many of our journalists. Communication is vital, so we have been having regular hangouts.
“As leaders it is incumbent on us to be clear about what we know and don’t know, and making sure we looking after our teams. It can be very tiring juggling lots of balls, with new ways of working being set up.
“I have made it my mission to keep reminding people to look after themselves and check in with colleagues. Taking breaks is also really important instead of staring at screens all day.”
As we reported last week, getting information from official sources has been challenges. George Oliver in Leicester said: “Our understanding is that local organisations want to speak with us, as their trusted partners, to put out accurate and relevant local information. But they are having their hands tied by central sign-off for messaging. This is creating an information void which is being filled by local speculation on social media.”
And, of course, journalists aren’t immune from Coronavirus. Graeme Brown, editor of CoventryLive, said: “We have had one or two people show symptoms and had to self-isolate, we have had to start initiating home working, which has brought its challenges, but emphatically we’ve seen that anyone healthy and ready to go really putting it in.
“A great example of this is our rugby writer, Bobby Bridge. With no sport to tackle, and despite showing symptoms, he has got right in the middle of our Covid-19 reporting.
“The speed of escalation has been surprising. No sooner did we start to talk about home working than the school closures were announced and it basically exploded those plans.”
What a time to launch a website
Amid the upheaval, Reach went ahead with the launch of its new HertsLive website, which is edited by Alan Woods.
He said: “The ‘work from home’ notice was issued to all of Reach roughly 14 hours before our newest Live site, HertsLive, was due to launch.
“By this point the office was set for the launch party and celebrations yet we then found ourselves in a position where we couldn’t even attend it.
“Launching the site was tough on that basis. The site turned to HertsLive at 9.15am but there was significantly less of a fanfare than I would have liked — a few celebratory emojis across the WhatsApp groups didn’t really do it justice.
“But the site is now out there and it has had some really strong days, coronavirus or no coronavirus.
“I think daily Hangouts with the combined Essex and Herts teams have really buoyed the enthusiasm around not only Herts but Essex too, as just ten minutes a day to talk to each other and see each others faces means a lot when you’re staring at a screen and the same four walls all day.”
Alan’s team includes the crew behind EssexLive, who are also working from home: “In Chelmsford we have shifted from one of the liveliest newsrooms in Reach to all working remotely. Instead of shouting (and throwing things) at each other across the office, we are now all communicating by Hangout and WhatsApp. The number of WhatsApp groups has ballooned significantly. Reporters who have never used a Google Hangout have learnt where the mute button is, and also the importance of it.
“We’ve had pets appear on Hangouts — dogs, cats and our newsroom squirrel, who was scooped up by one of the content editors at the announcement of the office closure and now has a new temporary home. But our standard remains so high.”
And our readers said…
Reaction from readers has helped keep spirits high in many places. David Bartlett said: “Our readers have been hugely supportive and are responding to uplifting stories. We published a thank you letter from Addenbrooke’s hospital and it has been read more than 140,000 times. We also carried the letter in its entirety on the front page of Cambridge News, and our readers responded very positively to this.”
At the Shropshire Star and Wolverhampton Express and Star, campaigns called ‘Star Neighbour’ have been launched to celebrate community spirit.
Martin Wright said: “We’ve had a really positive reaction to our Star Neighbour campaign to encourage people to help out the elderly and vulnerable and those self-isolating during the coronavirus outbreak.
“People have been turning to us as a trusted source of news and information and its heartening to see that we really matter to our readers, particularly in adversity.”
David Powles in Norwich added: “We’ve had amazing feedback. Most people seem to get that we’re trying our hardest to get the tone of this absolutely right under what are very trying circumstances.”
Gillian Loney, editor of GlasgowLive, said: “We’ve had excellent feedback — people have praised us for non-sensationalised, factual stories that keep them updated without scaremongering.
“We’ve also been praised for highlighting all the good things going on in Glasgow, shining that light on local heroes.”
Matt Millington, publisher of LeedsLive, said: “The feedback is mixed. Some value our informative, fact-led coverage. Others accuse us of scaremongering and causing unnecessary anxiety.
“Some are even accusing us — ‘the media’ — of causing all the panic. We are taking this on board though, and looking carefully at the way we present stories — sensitive to these criticisms and selective in our coverage, particularly with national news.”
For John Wilson, editor of the Hereford Times, dealing with the ‘usual suspects’ has been a challenge.
He said: “The reactions has been mixed. Very positive from loyal readers in print and online, some criticism from the usual quarters on Facebook.
“Dealing with negativity comments about some aspects of our coverage from elements of social media has been our biggest challenge.
“But our reporters have had a fantastic response to a difficult situation, and a huge number of people are turning to us for information.”
Chris Mallett, acting editor at DerbyshireLive, said: “The reaction has been generally positive from readers, although there are more people than I would have expected accusing us of scaremongering given we are reporting everything very straight.”
Katie Clark at Newsquest has seen a similar pattern: “It’s been a weird time. While we’ve seen people soften towards what we’re doing and in many cases thanking us, the abuse has also risen too. Scaremongering, false information, which is untrue, are just two of the things aimed at our staff. It’s very unfair.”
Brian Hossack, editor of the Greenock Telegraph, said: “The response has been incredible. We’ve been hailed as a focal point for the community effort to fight coronavirus.”
Kerry Couple in Stamford said: “We’ve had extremely positive feedback, readers are not surprised that we’re still working and they’re happy to keep engaging with us.
“People have been ringing us for chats and that community service is more important than it has ever been. Customers are also having some extremely positive conversations with our commercial colleagues.
“The Mercury was established in 1712 so it has had its fair share of challenges over its long history — readers and customers trust us to deliver and they are confident we will continue to do that.”
