How staying true to 200-year-old principles helped carve new future for weekly newspaper
Behind the scenes of the award-winning Impartial Reporter - plus our weekly roundup
Good morning,
Welcome to the weekly update from Behind Local News.
There’s a lot going on in local news this week. The Regional Press Awards take place in London tomorrow. We have our latest preview of the awards, looking at the digital initiative category, here - and will have further coverage throughout the week.
Later this week the International Festival of Journalism takes place in Perugia, Italy. Thousands descend on the pretty Umbria city to discuss the future of the industry. Will their answers have an impact? Livestreams of many of the panels can be found here.
Today’s main feature is by Rodney Edwards, the editor of the Impartial Reporter. It’s a remarkable reading, sharing the inside story of how the paper has been relaunched, with superb results. No wonder it claimed weekly newspaper of the year at the recent Newspaper Awards.
As ever, your feedback is most welcome - please let us know what you think. If you’re a subscriber, please consider sharing this newsletter with colleagues. If you’ve arrived via a share link, the button to sign up to get our updates is just below.
Thanks for reading,
Behind Local News
New this week:
Dealing with AI and algorithms - the newsrooms innovating in local news
Our Saturday feature looked at the shortlisted entries for digital initiative of the year at the Regional Press Awards
What can publishers learn from the independent sector?
Jeremy Clifford finds traits, tactics and strategies at independent publishers which could work at some of local journalism's biggest organisations
“There’s only one reason a politician would try and create a fake newspaper”
The managing editor of an independent website said what we’re all thinking with a damning critique of the dodgy practice of politicians passing off election leaflets as newspapers
Derby newsroom backs fight to keep train industry in city
Powerful front page and op-ed online sends message to Government: Act before it is too late
One “L” of an endorsement for the Northern Agenda
TV and radio personality Carol Vorderman was delighted by the portrayal of her in a Northern Agenda cartoon.
Celebrating this week:
The Liverpool Echo’s political editor Liam Thorp had good reason to celebrate after a fight to name councillors served with court summons for unpaid council tax was backed by the Information Commissioner.
Congratulations to journalists at Reach, DC Thomson, National World and The Evening Standard - all flying the flag for local journalism at the Publisher Podcast Awards, the shortlist for which was announced last week.
The Lead - the micro-mag and newsletter network launching across the North of England, announced three new locations - and the first partnerships with hyperlocal publishers in two of those three places.
Two local publishers have announced schemes to recruit talent from diverse backgrounds. Mediahuis, which publishes the Belfast Telegraph, launched its emerging talent scheme while the Manchester Evening News confirmed it was partnering with the Financial Times for a second year to hire an apprentice without university experience.
In Newcastle, the Chronicle’s charity the Sunshine Fund is celebrating its 95th birthday - after revealing demand for its services are greater than ever.
Jobs in local journalism:
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
Digital Audience and Content Editor/Sports Reporter - Somerset
Multimedia Reporter - Tindle Newspapers (Launceston/Liskeard)
Writer’s Block: How life-threatening pregnancy condition prompted new career
Former Plymouth Herald journalist Rachael Atkins has fulfilled a dream of writing and illustrating children’s books.
Rachael began working on her debut book Feathers McGee on her phone while her baby daughter napped in her arms. It’s one of a trio of children’s books Rachael has created.
Rachael said she began to look at life differently after suffering a bilateral pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal, a week before giving birth. Months later, the country went into lockdown.
Rachael said: “I didn’t want to put anything off. I had dreamed, like a lot of people, of writing books for a long time and I decided to just do it.”
Rachael’s rhyming picture books are titled Brian the Dandelion, Feathers McGee, and The Snail Mail and are all available on Amazon. You can follow Rachael on Facebook at facebook.com/ratkins.writes.
Writer’s Block is our weekly slot celebrating creative work done by journalists away from ‘the day job.’ Want to feature in Writer’s Block? Please contact us here.
The 200-year-old local news principles which are finding new audiences in 2024
Sales growth, positive advertising trajectories and new readers right across the island of Ireland. Impartial Reporter editor Rodney Edwards shares the story behind his paper’s success
I never thought I would find myself back at The Impartial Reporter, especially not as Editor. It is an absolute privilege to be in charge of a newspaper that has been part of my life since I was in school.
It has been two decades since my then English teacher, Sheila O'Hare, at Enniskillen High School, asked me about my future aspirations. I had always enjoyed writing, and she suggested I should try to get into journalism. Then she told me I should arrange work experience at this paper but my nerves got the better of me. Little did I know that Sheila's determination would shape the course of my life.
Over the years, my career has taken me through some of the biggest newspapers in the UK and Ireland, but among them all, it was The Impartial Reporter that captured my heart. This newspaper holds an intoxicating hold over anyone who has walked through its doors on East Bridge Street in Enniskillen. All of us past and present have been built on the very fabric of this place, its values, and its principles.
In 2020, I left The Impartial after 11 years to work for Dublin’s Sunday Independent. And last summer as I handed in my notice and accepted this role, Alan English, the Sunday Independent's editor and former editor of the Limerick Leader, told me, "I could never stand in the way of you editing your hometown paper." His words reaffirmed my decision.
So, you can imagine my overwhelming joy when I found myself returning as Editor last September. I intended to be different and do things differently.
In September, The Impartial Reporter unveiled a striking transformation marked by a contemporary design and renewed focus on visual storytelling.
The pages underwent a comprehensive overhaul, emerging with a cleaner and more modern look. This redesign emphasised clarity and modernity, providing a pristine canvas for the diverse content within. New sections, including People & Places, Business, Arts & Culture, Farming & Rural Affairs, and Opinion, were introduced.
The revamp extended to striking photography, recognised as a cornerstone of our publication. Images are now granted ample space to breathe, and, in a departure from past practices, some now sprawl across two pages, enhancing their visual impact. This deliberate decision has injected a fresh vibrancy into the paper, elevating its overall appeal.
To achieve a more impactful front page, a strategic decision was made to remove two advertisements on either side of the masthead. The result is a cleaner, more visually arresting front page that captivates readers from the outset. While this move incurred some financial trade-offs, innovative solutions, such as placing ads alongside new sections inside, have helped to recoup revenue. This approach ensures that the front page serves as a powerful introduction to the rich content within.
Central to our editorial ethos is a commitment to addressing social injustices. Each paper now revolves around critical issues such as poverty, homelessness, childcare, and housing problems, giving voice to the marginalised. This commitment extends to in-depth investigative work, exemplified by our exploration of poverty and food bank usage in Fermanagh. The resulting expose shed light on an issues affecting many.
In a unique initiative, we launched a food bank appeal in October, distributing 8,000 paper bags - via our paper - free of charge to readers for donations. This grassroots effort significantly increased contributions to local food banks, demonstrating the power of community engagement and journalism to drive positive change.
The addition of esteemed contributors has further enriched our content. Notable figures like Father Brian D’Arcy, civil rights activist Bernadette McAliskey, and former Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster bring diverse perspectives and depth to our pages, fostering a more comprehensive and engaging reading experience and generating debate.
The impact of this focus on print is evident in the numbers. In the first six weeks of the new regime, we witnessed a six per cent increase in sales. At the end of last year, there was a 7.8 per cent increase year-on-year. The latest figures by Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) show The Impartial Reporter is now the biggest-selling weekly newspaper in Northern Ireland.
For example, The Impartial Reporter can now be found in more shops throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland than ever before.
This surge is not limited to circulation alone; advertising revenue has also experienced a positive trajectory, reflecting the success of our new approach.
Earlier this month The Impartial Reporter was named UK Weekly Newspaper of the Year 2024 at a prestigious awards ceremony in London.
The Newspaper Awards, which were held in Hilton Bankside in the heart of the city on Tuesday night, celebrated “excellence and innovation in the printed newspaper”.
Newspapers from across the UK, including the Financial Times, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph, were among those shortlisted for major awards. The Sunday Independent, Irish Independent, Belfast Telegraph and Irish News were also among the contenders.
The Impartial Reporter picked up the first award of the evening – UK Weekly Newspaper of the Year – for its “campaigning journalism”. The judges were looking for a publication that “showed there is still a thirst for a well-produced traditional weekly newspaper” and they wanted to see a “consistent quality of print and content backed up by evidence of commercial success and innovative ways of increasing circulation figures”.
In choosing our newspaper as the winner, the judges said The Impartial Reporter is a “strong campaigning paper that is fighting on behalf of its audience”.
“It has a lovely breathy layout and excellent print quality. Exuding a joyful community spirit, The Impartial Reporter was a standout winner in this under-pressure category.”
The success of our newspaper in the past nine months is down to our hardworking, dedicated and loyal staff. From our staff across all departments to our team of freelance reporters, writers and photographers.
I pay tribute, again, to our loyal readers – thousands of them throughout the island of Ireland -- from Fermanagh, Tyrone, Cavan, Leitrim, Monaghan, Donegal, Belfast, even as far away as Galway and Dublin who put their trust in us every week. We are hugely grateful.
One of my first acts as Editor was restoring a portrait of William Trimble, the founding Editor of The Impartial Reporter, back on the wall. It had been taken down during a refurbishment in the past, but I felt it was important to return it to its rightful place to honour the newspaper's legacy. It now hangs on the wall opposite my desk in Trimble’s old office, reminding me of his vision from the first edition in 1825 to stand up for the people. All people. Nearly two centuries later and at a time of much uncertainty I say with unwavering conviction that we will do that now more than ever. The Impartial Reporter will continue to speak truth to power.
And, so, having returned home, I am embracing this new chapter, alongside my colleagues, and I am dedicated — like they are — to serving our readers.
Rodney Edwards is an award-winning journalist (Amnesty International; Society of Editors) and Author.