Frome FM's Sam Saunders and Somerset Confidential® editor Andrew Lee are joined by Ray Tostevin, Chair of the National Union of Journalist (SW) to discuss the state of journalism in general and local journalism in Somerset in particular.
As a former local newspaper journalist and one who felt the job was a service, I listened intently to this excellent but depressing discussion and reflected not for the first time that people of my generation were the lucky ones.
There are some chinks of light. The Wellington Weekly News is so much better than it was in 2012 when I launched the Around Wellington online news site. Maybe competition was the spur? Around Wellington grows steadily under new editor/owner Ken Bird. And the BBC-funded local democracy reporter Daniel Mumby does excellent work across Somerset. Nationally there are success stories like The Mill based in Manchester. Not all gloom.
As a former local newspaper journalist and one who felt the job was a service, I listened intently to this excellent but depressing discussion and reflected not for the first time that people of my generation were the lucky ones.
It is certainly a sorry story today. It’s sad to reflect on the decline.
I can only wonder if there are better things to come
There are some chinks of light. The Wellington Weekly News is so much better than it was in 2012 when I launched the Around Wellington online news site. Maybe competition was the spur? Around Wellington grows steadily under new editor/owner Ken Bird. And the BBC-funded local democracy reporter Daniel Mumby does excellent work across Somerset. Nationally there are success stories like The Mill based in Manchester. Not all gloom.