Islington considers online future for news

By Kevin Buah and Noriane Atahy

Launched in 1856, the Islington Gazette is a weekly newspaper with a circulation of 5, 000 copies a week which is now embracing digital technology.

Technological advances  have led to what editor Amie Brannen describes as “an easier publication process”. Brannen also states that the emergence of online publishing is a way of offering something different to readers giving them choices in the way they receive their news.

She adds: “Our online newspaper is also a way of encouraging the younger generation to read.”

Most of the Islington locals Londone spoken to showed great interest in the Gazette. Most said they read it and that they preferred it to national newspapers as they felt they could relate to the content.

But not all were enthusiastic about the title. Market trader Thomas Archer said  “the London newspapers  in general always publish negative content and do nothing of interest for the community”.

The internet has helped drive a drop in circulation across practically every local newspaper in the country, making the future of local newspapers uncertain. The majority of locals we spoke to said they preferred getting their news online, rather than in print. Other locals however, such as Joan Mcluden,  said: “I prefer to get the local Islington Gazette on prints just because I love all the supplements.”

Locals enjoyed reading the Gazette for different reasons, some for entertainment, some only for news and being aware of the issues in their community. Memet Osarie, a newsstand owner, spoke to us about his reasons for reading the Islington Gazette, and gave us his thoughts on digital versus print.

Alternatively, click here to listen.

Sidcup residents make their own news

By Sίlvia Amaro and Emmeline Booth

Sidcup residents have taken making the news into their own hands after feeling that their town was not being adequately covered by local newspapers.

Sidcup has 12,130 households and is covered by a local edition of the free Chronicle newspaper series. But Margaret Shepherd , a retired local, said: “There is a need for wider local news coverage.”

Into this gap has stepped the Sidcup Community Group which was launched in 2002 aiming to improve communication in the community. It is increasingly finding itself filling the void created by the lack of local newspaper coverage.

The group launched its own news website in January 2011 and it has already received almost 42,500 visits.

Paul Laundy, secretary for the group, said the group has eight committee members and does not see its main role as journalistic.

“The role of the group is to represent the views of local residents. We do not aim to be a local newspaper. Stories are included for two purposes. Firstly, they advise residents of issues which may be of interest or concern. But importantly, by updating news on a regular basis, residents find the site useful and keep coming back.”

The site has broken bigger stories, including the news that Waitrose had pulled out of its commitment to open a store in Sidcup.

When asked about why the group began publishing a website, despite already having a fortnightly print newsletter, Laundy said: “A web presence is now an absolutely essential means of communication. I read recently that the printed newspaper has a maximum 10 year lifespan before everybody reads via the internet.”

Here Sidcup resident Marie Boorman, 27, gives her views about local news coverage in the town:

West London blogger struggles to make news pay

By Catalina Albeanu and Carolina Are

“Modern readers only care about the story, not about the platform”, says Gaz Corfield, creator of wildly successful local news site The West Londoner, which received over 1m hits in 24 hours during the London riots last summer.

According to Corfield some 50 per cent of those readers accessed it through a mobile device. He started The West Londoner because the digital offering in West London is “pitiful”.He complains that most local titles are in print, with websites only as a secondary promotion tool.

Corfield saw a gap in the market for fast, accurate and local online news. “It’s gossip, basically; people are naturally inquisitive and like to know what’s happening round their local area”, he says. For example, nowadays the most popular West Londoner stories are about the fate of rioters and council malpractice.

Gaz Corfield, founder of The West Londoner. Photo from wannabehacks.co.uk

For Corfield, mobile is the future for local news. But he says he would also like to save up and create a hyperlocal print title available via subscription. The big stumbling block is finding a way to make it pay: “Once somebody comes up with a funding model that works, I think the other problems will solve themselves.”

Despite the success of the West Londoner, Corfield has been unable to find a job in journalism – and is currently working as a social media consultant.

On the streets of Hammersmith, West Londoners have differing views about how they want local news. Richard Emmott, 44, a management consultant from Fulham, says: “I think it depends on  the generation. A lot of my friends certainly use smartphones and iPads nowadays for local searches.”

A 64-year-old housewife from Hammersmith who did not want to be named says: “I get my local news from the television. I don’t use any websites or the internet. I suppose other people read the Hammersmith and Fulham newspaper.”

But according to Alex Boakye, 29, a WHSmith employee in Kings Mall, Hammersmith,“local newspapers are still the main means of gathering local information”.

Listen to our interview with Alex Boakye here or by using the widget below:

Alex Boakye holding the Ealing & Acton Gazette.

Photos by Catalina Albeanu and Carolina Are unless otherwise specified.