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Neil Merrick on how working from home is affecting journalism


News from the home front A


t first, the idea of working from home was quite appealing. Not only could Richard Palmer avoid the daily commute to Canary Wharf but it was not unusual for him to enjoy a beer in his Hampshire garden at around


5pm, just before the government’s daily press briefing. Yet after months of working from home during the pandemic, Palmer and other journalists began to miss being in the office. “You’re not feeling the buzz of the newsroom, the TV blaring and people shouting across the floor,” he says. Many stories stem from reporters bouncing ideas off one another, which is less likely to occur when you communicate by WhatsApp, Zoom or email. “Stories emerge from conversations with colleagues,” says Palmer, royal correspondent and father of chapel at the Express In most respects, production of local and national titles since late March has been a major success. Journalists, some of whom had to take pay cuts, proved day after day that they do not need to rub shoulders in the same building to meet deadlines and report news. After urging people in England to return to workplaces in


August, the government changed its advice again, making it uncertain whether journalism will become office-based again. The Daily Mail was among the first to boast how it was


producing the paper with an empty newsroom (before later accusing civil servants of being workshy because they preferred to work from home).


Going anywhere


ZOOM and other video technology allows journalists to both attend news meetings and observe events taking place anywhere. Owing to the pandemic,


many local authorities are streaming not only cabinet and full council meetings but also smaller committees and panels.


“Being able to sit in my


living room and watch proceedings anywhere from Cornwall to Edinburgh has made it much easier to cover local government,” says Dan Peters, news editor at Municipal Journal. Previously, adds Peters, the


record of councils in opening up meetings to reporters and


members of the public was somewhat patchy. Local democracy reporters


(LDRs), who cover councils and NHS trusts for a range of local media, also see benefits. This can include covering two different meetings at the same time. At a virtual meeting of


“ ”


University Hospital of Derby and Burton NHS Trust, Eddie Bisknell, LDR in Derbyshire, was invited to ask a question


You’re not feeling the buzz of the newsroom, the TV blaring and people shouting across the floors


– something that had never occurred when he attended trust meetings in person. However, being given the


opportunity to ask questions does not guarantee getting the answers. “It’s easier for them to fob you off than when you are there in person,” he says. Bisknell also misses


chatting to councillors or trust members in person before meetings and finding off-diary stories.


By the time of lockdown in late March, just a handful of


people were left in the Financial Times’ office near the River Thames. Many staff were used to working from laptops, so the shift to home working was reasonably straightforward. But not everyone’s work can be done as easily away from the office. “If you’re working from home, you need the right equipment,” says Steve Bird, FoC and head of broadsheet and tabloid production at the FT. “It depends on your home environment. If it’s relatively well equipped and you have space, it is an easy transition. Sitting on a stool at your kitchen table is not sustainable.” By delivering the same quality of journalism, staff showed


they were able to work flexibly and remotely without damaging the FT as a business. “It’s very important for management to see this,” Bird adds. However, journalists with children can experience major


problems when working from home, while people who live alone can experience mental health problems because of isolation. With a reporter and a sub furloughed, the team that


normally produces Municipal Journal was reduced to five at the start of lockdown. A daily video call helps to keep team members in touch and support staff who live alone and might miss human contact, says news editor Dan Peters. Local government has been at the forefront of Covid-19


stories. With a smaller reporting team, Peters writes more stories himself – something he generally enjoys.


There is also less likelihood


of speaking to members of the public, who might attend planning committees. “You are hoping they give you a call after reading an article, which isn’t ideal,” he notes. On the other hand, there is


the advantage of slipping away to do something useful when meetings drag on. “You can keep an eye on the dinner or make a cup of tea,” Bisknell says.


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