Why journalists everywhere should be paying attention to #tellali

Monday morning brought with it one of the most interesting newspaper front pages of recent times: A blank front page, save for hashtag which was explained inside. Editor in chief (and colleague) Alastair Machray is leading a project to revamp the Echo, which, perhaps more than many other regional news brands, has an audience never

The police and crime commissioner who wants to turn whistleblowers into criminals

When police and crime commissioners were first proposed by the coalition government, the idea was that they would make police forces more accountable. According to the Association of Police and Crime Commisioners: The role of the PCCs is to be the voice of the people and hold the police to account. They are responsible for

Seven advertising department influences which can help make a digital newsroom great

ONE of our newsrooms was described to me this week as being run ‘like a finely-tuned advertising department.’ Now, there was a time when that would have been seen by journalists as some sort of insult. Those who can see where the future is going won’t see it as an insult – just proof that

Lessons learnt from finding myself on the other side of the newsgathering fence

The other week I wrote a blog post in which I put across my opinion on the overnight printing of newspapers – and how, in my opinion, the idea that a newspaper – which had to be written, designed, printed, distributed and sold before reaching a reader – could act as an on-day breaking news

My Liverpool Daily Post column: Phone hacking is bad, but do we need some perspective too?

I’m lucky enough (though readers of the paper might not agree!) to have a weekly column in the Liverpool Daily Post. It’s a spin-off of my blog on the website, called Outside The Bubble, and is meant to be an outside look on the world of politics. I’ve covered the phone hacking issue this week,

Why accuracy is more important than ever

When I was 18, and just starting out in my first full time job as a trainee reporter, a very wise man who worked in the newsroom said to me: “What’s the most important thing for a journalist to remember?” “The ‘Who, What, Where, When, Why and How’ rule,” I replied, rather smugly if I

Local Heroes conference: Sir Ray says something which has been a long time coming

After the battering the regional press has taken over the past couple of years, maybe it wasn’t surprising that the rallying cry against its critics was issued from what felt like a lead-lined bunker. A presentation room devoid of natural daylight and which mobile phone signals were not strong enough to penetrate was the venue

So, where now for council newspapers?

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been contacted by a number of council PR officers keen to distance themselves, and their profession in general, from the rogue band of council newspapers which have hit the headlines in recent weeks. Strangely, these council press officers also write for or edit council publications in their own

Brighton Argus short-changed by Council over FOI

Council trading standards departments are, in my experience at least, the most publicity hungry of council departments. If they’re not warning about dangerous toys, then they’re after a good show for their latest crackdown on some dodgy activity. So it’ll come as no surprise to any council reporter that Brighton and Hove Council was happy

Councillor suggests repeat FOI requesters be blacklisted

The issue of rising costs associated with responding to Freedom of Information requests has raised its head again – this time at the Highlands and Islands police force in Northern Scotland. According to the Aberdeen Press and Journal, a member of the Police authority up there, Lochaber councillor Donald Cameron is  concerned about the rising