Now, 90,000 or stories later, those reporters held their
first conference and awards ceremony. We are gathered together in the
altogether fitting surroundings of the BBC’s cathedral at MediaCityUK in
Salford, just a £2.40 tram ride from Manchester city centre. There are smiling,
helpful people from the BBC, a smattering of G&G (great and good) from the
UK’s main newspaper groups and about 100 local democracy reporters from around
the country.
Unlike a lot of these industry dos it was not a talking shop
for assorted M&S (movers and shakers) to tell the congregation how
important they are and what an impact they are having. This was a practical
conference with delegates learning how to do stuff and even lining up to take
pot shots at the opening speaker, a surprisingly cheerful spectre at the feast
in the shape of David Holdstock, director of communications at the Local
Government Association.
There were sessions on getting the best out of Freedom of
Information requests, making better videos and using social media to greater
effect, all lapped up by the eager crowd. Some reporters were cajoled onto the
stage to talk about their exploits, most notably Julia Gregory, Local Democracy
Reporter for Kensington and Chelsea, who has been at the forefront of news
about the ongoing Grenfell fire disaster.
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| MEN OF THE MOMENT: Jeremy Clifford (left) from JPIMedia and Matthew Barraclough from the BBC |
A total of 144 Local Democracy Reporters have been allocated to
news organisations in England, Scotland and Wales. The other six are planned
for Northern Ireland later this year. These organisations range from a radio
station to online media companies and the established regional newspaper groups
well represented at the conference. The reporters cover top-tier local
authorities and other public service organisations, filing around 6,000 stories
every month in total.
Events in the prosaically named but dramatic space of Q5
were chaperoned by Matthew Barraclough, head of Local News Partnerships at the
BBC, and JPIMedia editorial director Jeremy Clifford wearing another hat of chairman
of the NMA/BBC advisory panel for the partnership
“It was impressive to see so many LDRs in one place – it
brought home to me yet again what a significant force they have become,”
reflected Barraclough, a former BBC regional journalist, after the event.
“I was able to meet some who I haven’t seen since their
initial training more than a year ago, and others for the first time. I was
struck time and again by their dedication and good humour. I believe that the
consistent, detailed reporting the LDRs generate day after day is a force for
good both in local politics and society at large.”
Close eye
Clifford thought the conference demonstrated the success of
the Local Partnership in bringing together the BBC and the publishers in a “new
spirit of collaboration to tackle a really important issue - how we cover local
council institutions within the context of the challenges of the industry and
staffing levels”.
He continued: “The awards were a celebration of the scheme –
showcasing the fantastic work that has been taking place since the scheme
launched, with nearly 90,000 stories being produced by this team of journalists
– celebrating and keeping a close eye on the work of our councils."
In March Tony Hall, director general of the BBC, formally
announced plans for a ‘Local Democracy Foundation’, saying: “My goal is to
mobilise a powerful coalition behind the creation of a Local Democracy
Foundation.
“And, together, to do all we can reverse the damage that has
been done to local democracy in recent years and bring about a sea change in
local public interest journalism.”
Watch this space…
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| Your correspondent (centre) gets a grilling from reporters at the Local Democracy conference |
Verdict
It was difficult not to get caught up in the love in the
room. Even hard-bitten old hacks (aka your correspondent) have to agree that putting
150 reporters into the newsroom, who might not otherwise be there, has got to
be a ‘good thing’.
It was also interesting to note that there were plenty of
wiser, older heads in the cohort, evidence that the service is a back-door way
of retaining some of the experienced (ie more expensive) people who might not
otherwise have survived the inevitable rounds of redundancies.
Everyone involved in the project, not least the LDRs
themselves, is upbeat and positive about the benefits of the service and while
there may be reservations about the price to be paid for taking the big-tech
money, getting into bed with Auntie doesn’t seem quite such a problem.
- This story is part of the coverage of the LDRS conference which appears in the July issue of PJNews
