We have some good news to announce here at South West Durham News (SWDN). We’re expanding – and we’ve three exciting new opportunities coming up for you to join us.
We’ve always thought of your local papers as being a people-powered local media.
With that in mind, we’re excited to announce that, thanks to support from the National Lottery Community Fund, we’re able to expand what we do by recruiting and training volunteer community reporters.
Our community reporters will cover all kinds of things, from attending local events, following campaigns, telling people’s stories, highlighting the work of local groups – and lots more.
Dream come true
Award-winning SWDN managing editor, Archie MacKay, says winning support for the new initiative has been a dream come true.
He said: “From the moment I arrived at South West Durham News in 2012, I wanted to actively involve the community in our work.
“However, in a small but busy newsroom, it isn’t always a simple task to match ambition with actuality and it has taken much patience and drive to finally see that dream being realised.
“I am delighted that our vision has been recognised by the National Lottery Community Fund and cannot wait to get our community reporter workshops underway.
“A similar community-led approach saw my former paper being recognised as Community Newspaper of the Year two years in succession. I’m confident our community reporters will help SWDN achieve similar heights in the years ahead.”
More developments
But that’s not our only development. We’ve also started a weekly drop-in session or ‘news cafe’ in Bishop Auckland, and we’re going to be once again running activities as part of the annual Indie News Week in June.
“All these new initiatives are about deepening links with our communities,” said Archie. “It is only by doing so that we can report on the stories that matter most and campaign on matters of most concern to our readers. As the motto of Indie News Week says: no news is bad news.
The expansion comes as part of SWDN’s ongoing collaboration with journalist and founder of The Northern Eco, Sarah Hartley, who has worked in the industry for national and regional news organisations for more than 25 years and who joined us as media trainer last year.
“I can’t wait to get these new initiatives started,” said Sarah, “We’ll be running a series of community reporter training courses in the autumn to give people the basic skills and confidence to tell the stories of their neighbourhoods.
“Maybe you’ll learn to write news articles, use photography or video – some people like to use all these (and more!) in their storytelling.
“But there’s no need to wait until September to be in touch – the drop-in sessions are up and running right now every Wednesday.”
Drop in
If you’d like to find out more, please get in touch. Our drop-in sessions at The Artists’ Hub in Bishop Auckland from 10am until 3pm are up and running every Wednesday. It’s a drop-in, so no appointment needed.
We want to hear your stories, understand more about the issues that interest you and impact your community.
Watch out for news of our Indie News Week events coming up during the week starting Monday, 15 June.
Workshops
The courses and workshops we’ll run are all free, friendly, informal and aimed at beginners.
They can also look good on your CV and are a good way of gaining new transferable skills – or can simply be a way to get more involved in your local community and meet new people.
The next free community reporter course will take place over six weeks starting on Saturday, 12 September.
Sessions will take place from 2pm – 4.30pm at a venue in Bishop Auckland. Each session will cover a different aspect of news gathering and storytelling, with refreshments and all equipment provided.
To sign up, register your interest online, or to find out more contact Sarah via sarah[@]swd[.]news.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
