Guardian Local plans revealed, as three cities earmarked for roll out - North West Media News

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Guardian Local plans revealed, as three cities earmarked for roll out

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Monday, 12 October 2009

The Guardian has finally revealed further details of its planned local online news project, as first sign-posted last year on How-Do, before further details came to light in May.

The national paper tentatively demonstrated its desire to embrace the local market last November when it released its “Guardian Cities Desirability Concept" questionnaire, seemingly concentrating on the Manchester area as a test bed.

Impressions that the service would focus on the North West city were strengthened half a year later with the news, also broke by How-Do, that Sarah Hartley from the Manchester Evening News had been brought on board to lead the project.

However, a Guardian spokesperson today confirmed to us that the first three metropolitan areas to get the Local treatment would be Leeds, Cardiff and Edinburgh (a location that was also highlighted in May).

Sites for the respective areas would be launching "sometime next year" they noted.

Hartley: heading the project

In a clear display of the team's intentions, the paper has also today advertised for three local 'beatbloggers' to take up positions in the cities.

An ad for the positions, initially 12 month freelance contracts, said that the bloggers would be required to "create and curate local multimedia content."

It continued: "You will lead the Guardian’s innovative approach to community news coverage by reporting on local meetings and events with an emphasis on political decision making, identifying grassroots issues of importance to residents and signposting information and news provided via other sources."

The paper is looking to create comprehensive resources for the cities and, sources suggest, may spread the service into new destinations if the initial testing grounds prove receptive to the concept.

The recruited bloggers will be responsible for producing and curating text, pictures, audio and visual content.

www.guardian.co.uk

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Comments (11)

1 By Kid Disco, on 12-10-2009 13:05
I just don't see how bloggers are going to write enough consistently interesting articles to keep people on these new websites.

Nothing against bloggers, it's just that they're not trained writers, and no amount of editing is going to help that.

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2 By Jobless Jeff, on 12-10-2009 14:47
It's like really bad y'know, and the're gonna take all the jobs away from all the peoples whos doin propr journalism and pay them nuthin. One of my mayts told me they wuz makin there staff pay for parkin.

Ooh, sorry folks, just practising my application for one of the jobs.

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3 By Bigmouth, on 12-10-2009 16:57
Well, its probably only fair to point out to both Jeff and Kid Disco that many professional journalists blog, sometimes on their own account, sometimes on behalf of their employer (eg Peston on the Beeb). The whole point of a professional blog is that it isn't edited, thereby allowing the better and more spontaneous writers the chance to create without it being mangled by a load of illiterate subs/subject to the whims of political/economic considerations. So, as always the proof will be in the pudding. If they employ proper writers with experience and insight it could work well. If they don't it'll be an anodyne and embarrassing disaster.....

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4 By Jobless Jeff, on 12-10-2009 17:45
Speaking of the illiterati, the expression which Bigmouth failed to nail is; "The proof of the pudding will be in the eating" NOT "...the proof is in the pudding".

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5 By Geoff, on 12-10-2009 20:53
Why is The Guardian trying to reinvent local news reporting in three cities when it can't even get local reporting right in the one city (region) it does have at the moment?

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6 By Realist, on 13-10-2009 14:38
They're not talking about real blogging though - as a "web log" of most people's lives is fundamentally boring. They're talking about proper journalism masquerading under the title of blogging to make it seem cooler :-)

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7 By Blurnalist, on 15-10-2009 11:41
Is blogger the new term for cheap journalist? We'll need a National Union of Bloggers next...

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8 By Jobless Jeff, on 15-10-2009 13:55
If the NUB is anything like the NUJ, they're dooooooomed!
NUB FOC: "Right, brothers and sisters, we're refusing to blog until the management agree to a 2 hour meal break".
NUB member; "But, FOC, we work for ourselves from home."
NUB FOC; Doesn't matter son. Start picketing the desk in your back bedroom until you come to your senses and agree to your demand for a 2 hour lunch break. Now, next item, comrades"....and so on...ad infinitum.

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9 By t, on 19-10-2009 12:26
Realist, they're also probably a lot cheaper if they're called "blogger" rather than "writer"

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10 By Remote Controller, on 19-10-2009 15:41
Having now read the job spec, they are taking the p!55 if they think anyone is about to buy this canard of "citizen journalism" in the "new media landscape" . The reality of Beatblogging will be the appointment of unemployed or freelance journos who will simply do the standard job plus a few emails and texts for good measure. But none of those tiresome overheads for GMG such as desks, PAYE, offices, NI, HR, OMG, WOY, MDRS, etc etc.

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11 By Bigmouth, on 20-10-2009 13:47
...ha ha ha....Remote Controller....hmm, MDRS, hmmm? I get it, I get it.....

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