news Impartial circulated to a bigger area


AN AWARD-WINNING Northern Ireland title that is celebrating its 200th anniversary has increased its circulation area at a time when local newspapers are perceived to be in difficulties, Anton McCabe writes. The Enniskillen-based Impartial Reporter has expanded from


its core area of Fermanagh into South Tyrone. Editor and NUJ member Rodney Edwards believes the local


printed newspaper still has a future if investments are made. “I think newspaper companies need to know the value and the


importance of investing in newspapers,” he said. “What we have witnessed ourselves and experienced is that people will still pick up a paper. As long as the journalism is there, as long as you invest in the journalism, the readers will follow.” At its foundation in 1825, the Impartial covered the counties


bordering Fermanagh – Tyrone, Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim and Donegal. Edwards admitted while stories in those counties were always covered over the years, “we didn’t really give it any big details – we didn’t really give it the resources it really needs”. The Impartial was the local newspaper for part of South Tyrone


“but we weren’t really doing enough. We have invested a considerable amount of money into making that happen.” There is now a South Tyrone edition, with a unique front and back page, and some inside pages too. The number of pages has increased from 72 to 88 which “means we have even more content from Fermanagh and South Tyrone” and the border areas of the Republic. The expansion means the paper now covers a significant part


of West of the Bann in Northern Ireland. “We want to be the voice of the West of the Bann, and do what we have always done – stand up for people, hold the authorities to account, to be the voice for ordinary people,” Rodney said.


Staff at Impartial, whose circulation and geographical reach have grown There is some good news there for journalists. “We have


put together a team of four freelances for South Tyrone,” Edwards said. He is pleased the paper has achieved a good growth in


circulation. “To convince anyone to pick up a new paper, I think, is a great thing,” Rodney said. The paper is now available in 140 extra shops. It has put on over 1,000 weekly sales. He finally stressed the Impartial is “a newspaper that’s


grounded in place, shaped by people and carried forward by legacy”. On May 19, it turned 200. Newsquest owns the Impartial, its only title in Ireland. For the second year running, the paper was named UK weekly


newspaper of the year at the Newspaper Awards. The citation praised “brilliant investigations, in-depth reporting and unique front-page design that made it stand out”.


Anonymity for armed police opposed The letter underscores the


THE NUJ and law reform charity JUSTICE have written jointly to Yvette Cooper, UK home secretary, expressing deep concern over a proposed change in the law granting anonymity to firearms officers subject to criminal proceedings following a shooting. Both the NUJ and JUSTICE stress that this change poses grave harm to the principle of open justice.


importance of access to information and securing the public’s right to know the details of cases involving police use of force. Amendments to the Crime and


Policing Bill granting anonymity to officers risk shrouding cases in secrecy, preventing sufficient examination of these cases as expected by the public.


The changes would mean firearms


officers receive less scrutiny than members of the public accused of committing crimes. Rigorous public scrutiny and the ability of journalists to report on cases involving firearms officers with transparency must be recognised by the UK government as central to public interest journalism. Laura Davison, NUJ general


secretary, said: “Open justice is a


crucial, established principle underpinning our justice system but proposals pursued now pose grave harm to public interest journalism. “Scrutiny through reporting by journalists plays an important role and, without an urgent rethink, government risks a reversal of transparency measures valued by the public, who recognise that a two-tiered approach with one rule for officers and another for the public is deeply flawed.”


McKee honour on Press Freedom Day


LYRA MCKEE, the journalist and NUJ member who was shot and killed while covering a disturbance in Derry, Northern Ireland, six years ago, was honoured on World Press Freedom Day in early May. The NUJ placed a photo of


her on the wall in the Reporter Bar, a pub that celebrates publishing in the city and is decorated with photos and reports of Belfast as seen through the media’s eyes. Lyra’s sister Nicola McKee


Corner (pictured) attended the commemorative event


along with members of the NUJ Belfast and district branch. Numerous speakers paid tribute to Lyra at a recent seminar commemorating her life during the Belfast Festival of Ideas and Politics.


theJournalist | 05 RONAN MCGRADE “


What we have witnessed is that people will still pick up a paper. As long as you invest in the journalism, the readers will follow


Rodney Edwards Editor, Impartial Reporter


KEVIN COOPER


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