Editor of the Liverpool Echo on the branding benefits of distributing a £1m Regional Growth Fund

Alastair Machray, editor of the Liverpool Echo, applied to take on distribution of a Regional Growth Fund in the hope that it would improve the paper’s brand and “place them at the heart of the community”.

The RGF is a government fund designed to be help create jobs through small businesses; the Liverpool Echo applied to be a partner and received £1 million to distribute locally.

Speaking at the Society of Editors regional conference yesterday (Thursday, 10 May), Machray gave some pointers on the process, and outlined its pros and cons.

“Applying to partner with the RGF is not a simple process, and is not to be approached alone,” Machray warned.

The 60-page application for the RGF is time consuming and technical. He advised considering whether the necessary time to complete the application properly could be afforded and building a team and electing a bid writer – someone that knows the buttons to press for government departments, a secretariat, and an investment company to manage the money.

When the Echo was successful in securing the £1m, they launched it in print, supported it online, and tried to pique interest using social media. Machray condensed the process:

1. Ask for entries
2. Get judges from the private sector
3. Shortlist entries
4. Award the winners, and then track the progress of these businesses
5. Reap the rewards for the paper

The benefits of the fund have been numerous for the paper, with “great editorial coming out of it”, Machray said, “but securing the fund was more about brand than selling papers or increasing web traffic”.

Machray also highlighted that they were approached to apply for the fund, indicating that the government still recognises the value of local papers.

We have a place at the heart of government; our brands resonate, and this is a good place to be.

Machray warned about dealing with trolls throughout the RGF process, and said to be prepared for criticism: “People were convinced we were trying to milk the wad”.

A rumour circulated that the the Echo was taking a 60 per cent cut of the million pounds, when in actuality the paper did nit even take back the £4,000 it cost to put the bid together, he said.

Machray also warned against involving third parties, such as businesses that offer “application stimulation”.

When questioned if he would repeat the process, Machray said that while the move had been beneficial for the paper, he would want to see the outcome of the RGF on local businesses before investing time into it again.

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – six ways to avoid common errors

Poynter has a list of six ways journalists can clean their copy, commit fewer errors.

1. Assume your copy will be published exactly as you wrote it.
2. Read your copy aloud slowly — and listen carefully — before sending it.
3. Be fair.
4. Stop at every number.
5. Read your email and respond to it.
6. Keep a list and check it twice.

It is worth reading the notes which explain each point.

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Mike Rawlins on how Pits n Pots offers ‘a proper good pub discussion’ around politics online

Mike Rawlins, founder of the Stoke-based political hyperlocal site Pits n Pots spoke at the regional Society of Editors meeting today, on the site’s origins and where it plans to move to in the future.

Born out of a desire to “see the city improve”, Rawlins argued that the site aimed to cater for a what he felt was a need for more discussion around local politics, adding that the site’s highly active comment threads today are like a “a proper good pub discussion”.

Pits n Pots holds a simple ethos:

• no editing in audio interviews
• no editing of video interviews
• no spinning stories: it’s always just straight down the line
• any political parties get to use the platform

As Pits n Pots is run by enthusiasts, rather than journalists, it focusses on providing the information, and allows the community to read into it. Not editing interviews also minimises the need for technical expertise.

The site has seen a rapid growth in traffic, moving from around 1,900 unique visitors a day, with 6,000 pageviews in December 2009, up to approximately 12,000 unique visitors and 30,000 pageviews a day in April and May of 2011 as the site provided far more comprehensive coverage of the local elections than the local press. Other successes for the site include providing live coverage of a Stoke on Trent EDL rally, and posting videos from their coverage of the day which resulted in them being the 2nd highest news channel on YouTube globally for two days.

Now supported by the Journalism Foundation, April 2012 saw Pits n Pots attempt a print format, produced by the journalism students at Staffordshire University, printing 50,000 copies. Journalism.co.uk reported that this one-off print edition, which was created as a marketing tool, helped to double Pits n Pots web traffic.

Rawlins says that the site will never be a full time job for him, but he hopes to employ a journalist in the future to progress the site, to facilitate better use of data, more investigative content, and allow better scrutiny of the local council.

He concluded that hyperlocal sites like Pits n Pots would never replace the local paper, and that they can coexist.

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#PPAconf: Why cover design matters for the Big Issue

In the past year, the Big Issue has changed dramatically, regaining its reputation as a “magazine with teeth”, according to editor Paul McNamee.

Speaking at yesterday’s PPA conference in London, he said: “We are a very different magazine than we were a year ago and a radically different magazine from 24 months ago.”

The Big Issue has seen big changes since it teamed up with Dennis Publishing. With editorial now run from Glasgow and one national edition of the magazine, McNamee concentrated on  “the four Cs”, cover, content, columnists and community, to give the magazine some bite.

He told delegates: “The cover was the most important. [A bold cover] could attract a lot of attention and make a lot of noise.

“We had to find a way to find our own space again.”

Simplifying the cover’s design to one element, McNamee showed the delegates how the front page was markedly different to what it was before the magazine’s relaunch. He said: “[The cover has] one, single element to it every week that has power and impact and something to say.”

Along with enlisting footballer Joey Barton as a columnist and strengthening the magazine’s relationship with its vendors, McNamee said he believed the end product is something which will stand the test of time.

“We’ve been going for 21 years now – hopefully, we’ll be around for another few yet.”

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#PPAconf: How the Stylist got to know its readers

For its 100th issue, women’s magazine Stylist wanted to try something completely different.

In a risky move that eventually paid off, the magazine put out a call to its readers to supply the content. What followed was an issue which got to grips with exactly what the readers wanted in a way quite unlike anything which had done before.

Lisa Smosarski, Stylist’s editor-in-chief, told delegates at yesterday’s PPA conference: “Through this process, we got to know [the readers] better than we could have in any other way. We were absolutely delighted with the product in the end.”

Handing editorial decisions over to the readers was a daunting prospect, but one which inevitably paid off for the women’s magazine. Equally daunting was handing over the reins to celebrity chef Nigella Lawson for an edition which took eight months to put together, a time-scale almost unheard of in the world of publishing, Smosarski said.

“We hadn’t expected that she’d spend eight months working on this issue – at times we thought we’d absolutely lost the plot. But spending time means you get something that bit more special,” she said. The issue was a commercial success and the caramel-covered Nigella on the cover made national news.

Just as the 100th issue changed Stylist’s dynamic with their readers, the Nigella issue changed their dynamic with celebrities. Smosarski said: “We learnt that there would be a few projects throughout our year that we should spent that much time on.”

Branding themselves “Britain’s thinking women’s weekly”, Smorsarski explained how Stylist’s risk-taking will take them to the next level in the coming year. She said: “We’re pretty confident this is going to be our most important year yet.”

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Chris Bryant apologises for Murdoch-Cameron meetings claim

Labour MP Chris Bryant has apologised for falsely claiming in parliament that prime minister David Cameron held five secret meetings with Rupert Murdoch following the 2010 general election, that had not been declared.

Bryant, who is a “core participant” in the Leveson inquiry, told the Commons yesterday that he had “no intention” of misleading MPs. He has also apologised to Lord Justice Leveson.

He said:

On 25 April, I told the house that the Leveson inquiry had published certain information regarding meetings that had been held between Rupert Murdoch and the prime minister.

I believed at the time that that was the case, but it has subsequently turned out not to be true.

I have, of course, apologised to Lord Justice Leveson, but I thought I should take this opportunity to apologise to the house as well. I hope the apology will be accepted. I had no intention of misleading the house; that was purely inadvertent.

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – five free online portfolio sites

Elana Zak has blogged on 10,000 Words giving five free online portfolio sites journalists.

She recommends: WordPress, Cuttings.me (which we have written about previously), Pressfolios, Flavors and About.me.

The post describing each of the five portfolio options is at this link.

Here is a post we published last year on five great journalist portfolios.

Tipster: Sarah Marshall

If you have a tip you would like to submit to us at Journalism.co.uk email us using this link– we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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#ppaconf: Arguments for and against the commercially-minded editor

Should editors be required to be commercially-minded and focus on the business side of publishing or be free to concentrate on journalism?

This was the question debated by two speakers in a session looking at business-to-business magazines at today’s PPA conference.

Evening Standard columnist Peter Bill gave a strongly opinionated view, arguing that the roles of editor and publisher should remain separate; Chris Gamm, editor of Retail Newsagent, described how his role involves considering advertising revenue and thinking about how to increase copy sales.

Bill believes editorial teams should purely focus on producing great content, not worrying about whether readers are accessing it via print or digitally and how much money is being made.

Bill said:

It is not the job of the editor to worry about how the reader gets the content.

He urged publishers to invest in journalism, saying strong content is “necessary for economic survival”.

He listed his “moans of malcontent”, warning that “content is degraded by commercial pollution”.

Chris Gamm, editor of Retail Newsagent, a business-to-business title launched in 1889 which sells at £1.80 a week, gave the opposing view, saying it is up to the editor to think about the bottom line.

Describing himself as a “commercially-minded editor” he said that creativity is required to ensure readers pay for content paid for directly by the advertiser.

Advertorials don’t have to be boring.

He said how such content can bring in “tens of thousands of pounds”.

He gave the example of an advertorial his title ran which looked at the plain packaging of cigarettes debate. He sent reporters to look at packaging in supermarkets and create a feature and argued that readers found it interesting content while it sustained strong journalism.

Double-page spreads in the magazine focus on “original copy and are not press release-led”, allowing businesses to advertise their brands.

He explained how reporters have targets, including turning their contacts book into 10 exclusive stories per quarter, and how closely they work with the commercial team.

Despite strongly opposing views in what an editor’s role should include, where both speakers did agree was that original content is key, whether readers are accessing content digitally or in print, and whether they are paying to read or accessing titles for free.

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Media release: Libel reform campaigners respond to Queen’s Speech

The Libel Reform Campaign announced a “victory” today as the Queen’s Speech confirmed legislation will be introduced in the next 12 months to reform defamation law.

The campaign issued a number of comments from those involved in the campaign, some of which are listed below:

Tracey Brown, managing director, Sense About Science:

We and thousands of others have campaigned to stop the libel laws’ bullying and chilling effects on discussions about health, scientific research, consumer safety, history and human rights. We are really pleased to see the government has moved closer to honouring its promise of a fairer law and protection of free speech in today’s Queen’s Speech. This opens the way to developing a law guided by public interest not powerful interests.

Simon Singh, defendant in British Chiropractic Association v Singh:

I continue to be contacted by journalists, scientists and others who are being silenced by libel threats or libel claims. The reform promised in the Queen’s speech today is a welcome response to the intolerable effects of the current laws. I hope that the government will now move rapidly to bring forward a bill that protects those writing about serious matters in the public interest.

Jo Glanville, editor, Index on Censorship:

We have now have a chance for libel legislation that’s fit for the  21st century. The introduction of the single publication rule and greater protection for internet service providers will help to put an  end to the chilling effect online.

Justine Roberts, co-founder and CEO, Mumsnet:

While the draft Defamation Bill was a very good start, it didn’t go far enough to protect freedom of expression, particularly in the online environment. Websites and hosts of user-generated comment risk becoming tactical targets for those who wish to clamp down on criticism or investigation of their activities.

Philip Campbell PhD, editor-in-chief, Nature:

It is essential to the public trust in science that scientific integrity is upheld and that bad behaviour is brought to light. It is therefore imperative that libel legislation be revised to achieve a better balance of interests between those accused of misconduct and those who should be better able to write about them.

Hardeep Singh, journalist and libel defendant:

The inclusion of the defamation bill in the Queen’s Speech marks a major milestone for The Libel Reform Campaign. It can’t be right that ordinary people risk their livelihoods when getting caught up in costly libel proceedings.

The government has already investigated ways to weed out unmeritorious claims, whereby claimants will have to show serious harm before a case progresses. If passed by Parliament, these types of amendments will not only make our libel laws fairer, but go some way in restoring London’s reputation from being a ‘town called sue’.

Till Sommer, Internet Service Providers Association:

ISPA welcomes the Government’s commitment to libel reform. The current regulatory framework has failed to provide clarity to hosting and Internet service providers and has ultimately has had a chilling effect on freedom of speech online. We hope that Parliament will address the current shortcomings in the upcoming session and we will follow the political process closely to ensure that the reforms strike the best possible compromise between protecting providers, claimants and authors.

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Voice of America: China’s Foreign Ministry questioned on Al Jazeera journalist visa issue

Image by jamiejohndavies on Flickr. Some rights reserved

Voice of America has published what it says is a transcript of questions put to the spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, in relation to Al Jazeera English’s report that its China correspondent Melissa Chan had her visa renewal application “refused”.

Journalism.co.uk reported on Tuesday (8 May) that Al Jazeera English has closed down its Beijing bureau after Chan’s visa was apparently “refused” by authorities.

Al Jazeera said in its report “it is continuing to request a presence in China”.

Voice of America has published “a transcript of some of the questions and answers at the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s daily briefing” in which a spokesman is said to have responded to questions from foreign journalists about what had happened.

Hong Lei: I have stressed that China welcomes foreign journalists to report in China and we have also provided convenience to foreign journalists in reporting objectively in China. I think you have been in China for several years and are very clear about this. At the same time I want to stress that foreign journalists should abide by Chinese laws and regulations while reporting in China.

Read Voice of America’s full article here.

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