Journalism students learn about hyper local news platform, AboutMyArea
By Paige Holland, level five student
Haley Storey, editor of hyper local news platform AboutMyArea Portsmouth, has been telling students about her job and how they can get work published on her site.
Haley took on the site in 2006 as a means of earning income from home.
She was educated at the University of Portsmouth, where she gained a degree in engineering, so journalism was a big change from her previous career, Haley explained to students on the second year Newsbeat unit at the University of Portsmouth.
She highlighted the importance of reporting at a local level and stressed how important it is for students to get their work published on AboutMyArea.
Even the smallest of stories are newsworthy, she said. “People are interested!”
The site features opinion pieces, food and drink reviews, competitions — including ‘Win tickets to see the Nutcracker at Ferneham Hall’- and what’s on in Portsmouth.
It also promotes local businesses through reviews and advertising.
AboutMyArea has established a successful relationship with its readers by regularly uploading content, Haley explained.
She discussed how communicating with the public is the key to creating a steady and reliable news platform.
With its Facebook platform bringing in the most traffic with 25k followers, and its Twitter presence bringing in over 11.7k people, it is easy for the people of Portsmouth to obtain their news at a local level, she explained.
If having your work published online entices you, feel free to send your Portsmouth stories along to Portsmouth@aboutmyarea.co.uk
