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H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H Too much information!


Having cast my vote for the editorship of The Journalist, I have to tell you – the new or current editor – how dismayed I am by the process. I refer to the list of candidates – my biggest gripe being


the length of candidates’ statements. I mean, who cares that Joanna Bloggs passed geography O-level in 1983? We were subjected to screeds of rambling, irrelevant waffle – and this from professionals who surely know how to sub-edit! It’s a clear case of too much information amounting to


disinformation, just like those ‘terms and conditions’ that no one bothers to read. As I waded my way through, I had succumbed to fatigue by the time I reached those unfortunate enough to be listed last. And that’s another thing: listing candidates in


alphabetical order confers an unconscious advantage on those listed first. The same applies to those with photo headshots versus those without. My suggestion? Insist on headshots for either all or none


of the candidates. List them all on one page to reduce alphabetical order bias. And do like the letters pages: restrict statements to a maximum 200 words. Paul Gould Brighton (in less than 200 words)


H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H


Live where you work to get decent local stories Gary Baker’s comparison of local newspaper reporters and people who commute to work in London is interesting (Letters, October/ November). Being a reporter is not like working in an office in London after a commute from the home counties. Of course, you can do the job after an hour’s commute, setting aside the fatigue that such commuting would entail. But, to be frank, as a local reporter with 30 years’ experience, you are much more likely to get a steady flow of decent off-diary stories by living on the patch ‘so you can go to the pub and get nuggets of stories’. Andrew Napier Southampton branch


22 | theJournalist


I’d drink to a community paper, not a content farm In response to Gary Baker’s letter (‘How far is too far away to work on a local paper?’, Letters, October/ November), I must admit it’s pleasing to hear of a publication still evidently at the heart of its community, rather than being produced from a ‘content farm’ miles away. As for visiting the pub to pick up stories, I’m not sure they attract the wide section of society they once did, but perhaps if Gary wants to make the effort, his editor could buy him a few pints? Owen Ralph Manchester


All hail Skibbereen’s Southern Star newspaper I can’t be the only journalist who on holiday always picks up the local paper.


I have become a fan of Skibbereen’s Southern Star. This week it was a house ad that struck me, the simple message: ‘West Cork’s Social Media For 130 Years’. That tag should be echoed in all proud locals. As a crusty old life member I no doubt display ‘they ain’t like what they used to be’ syndrome. The Southern Star is a paper like what


they used to be. Forty four broadsheet pages stuffed with local news. It’s strength I would guess is from a nurtured army of local correspondents who are the backbone to local journalism. God bless ‘em and preserve ‘em. It’s the same for the sports coverage. A 16-page tabloid supplement covers the county’s many sports. I weep at my local’s patchy and thin sports coverage where it’s obvious the club honorary secretaries and


Email to: journalist@nuj.org.uk Post to: The Journalist 72 Acton Street, London WC1X 9NB Tweet to: @mschrisbuckley


organisers haven’t been nurtured. I guess our Irish members know the


weekly but I urge the suits at Reach, Archant and Newsquest to jump on a plane and find out just what the successful Star is doing right. Jeff Wright Hampshire


Pub beats press releases I can sympathise with my friend and former colleague Gary Baker (How far is too far away to work on a local paper? Letters, October/November)), but he should at least take some comfort from the fact that he has an editor who still recognises the importance of picking up stories in the local pub, not from council press releases. Graham Snowdon Life Member Sheffield


Cuttings are invaluable records of local history Conrad Landin’s piece on the ‘dying art of clipping newspaper articles’ was timely, (Death of a thousand cuttings, (October/November 2019). Like Conrad, I am an inveterate clipper of press stories, not least to have easy retrieval of cuttings in one place relating to the same story. Also like Conrad, I end up with envelope after envelope loaded with cuttings that have become obsolescent. The key task is to be ruthless in disposing of such envelopes to make room for the next story. There is another key aspect to the importance of cuttings: the rescuing and availability of historic cuttings files. With the demise of so many local and regional newspapers, their libraries are often thrown out, together with their cuttings files painstakingly assembled over many decades. These are vital records of local history and are invaluable to journalists and other writers needing to research the background to a story. The Yorkshire Post cuttings files go back to around 1910 and are virtually intact. They are safeguarded by the


HARRY MALT


£30 prize


letter


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