NEW MEDIA
‘ No ads , no clickbait , just real journalism ’
A PIONEERING local journalist sacked from a paper in Cornwall by the Trinity Mirror chain has set up what he claims to be the first subscription-funded local news website .
Graham Smith was a reporter for the Cornish Guardian , published by the Local World group , which was bought up by Trinity Mirror ( TM ) in November 2015 .
Now he ’ s the owner , manager and editor of Cornwall Reports , which is going strong behind a paywall – such is the demand for news that the corporate media are dismally failing to supply .
TM , obsessed with cost-cutting , straight away made 12 staff redundant – but not Graham Smith , who as a former TV reporter and experienced operator in the area for 37 years – he is 62 – was worth keeping on . Instead they increased the area he had to cover to more than half of Cornwall .
But they didn ’ t seem interested in his news skills or contacts at all . What they wanted was clickbait . On his first day on TM ’ s website Cornwall Live , he said : “ I was asked to write a listicle on ten illnesses that can kill your pet .
“ Today the top story on Cornwall Live is the 50 sexiest people in Cornwall . Most are actors that have appeared on Poldark but are not from Cornwall at all .” He told TM he was going to launch a site of his own in competition to this kind of rubbish , one with real local news on it . They sacked him for “ failing to share the aims and values ” of the company . Smith sat down with Wordpress and had Cornwall Reports onscreen two days later .
A crowdfunding appeal brought him over £ 3,000 to get started , but for the long term he decided to go for subscriptions and put the news behind a paywall , in what he claims to be “ Britain ’ s first local news website to rely entirely on its readers ”. The website is updated throughout the day .
He set his sights on recruiting 1,000 readers within a year . In early March he had 259 so was still
on target . “ No adverts ” is his crucial concept ; “ just journalism ”. The “ cover price ” of Cornwall Reports is £ 30 per year , or £ 1 a week .
“ It ’ s a business model which should be of interest to every journalist ,” he says . “ It puts journalists in charge , free from the tyranny of having to feed massive audiences a never-ending diet of trivia and click-bait , and it has the potential to breathe new life into local news as a pillar of a free press and democracy .”
Smith uses social media , and has a 4,000-strong email list , accumulated over his years as a journalist in Cornwall – 25 of those years on television , becoming current affairs editor of Westcountry TV . He says he is “ probably better known than some other local journalists ”.
Every morning he posts a video on Facebook , promoting Cornwall Reports . Those videos are watched by nearly 4,000 people every day . AA cornwallreports . co . uk
GRAHAM SMITH : taking on the too-big media
RENEWAL AS A CO-OP
NEW INTERNATIONALIST , the world development magazine , is restructuring itself into a worldwide community-owned cooperative . The independent publication has launched a £ 500,000 share offer – claimed to be the largest of its kind by a media organisation globally .
Having pioneered a more ethical reporting for more than four decades , NI has now created a new way to finance and run not-for-profit media .
The minimum investment is set at only £ 50 . Shares cannot be transferred or sold on . Investors have one vote , no matter how much they invest and , as co-owners , become stewards of NI ’ s mission into the future .
The campaign runs on Crowdfunder . co . uk . The organisers hope the share offer will create a secure and democratic structure , bucking the trend of media ownership concentration .
New Internationalist co-editor Hazel Healy said : “ We have always written about other people coming together to change things , now it ’ s our turn . It felt like we needed to do something big . Fear , and mistrust are rising all over the world , and misinformation along with them .
“ Meanwhile , the media ’ s broken business model is making it harder than ever for independents like us to survive .
“ Our slogan # FactsAndHeart says it all . This is journalism that has the power to bring people together .”
Graeme Roy , community shares officer at Crowdfunder said : “ Community shares are a great way for the public to own and run the businesses that are important to them . I am sure the crowd will support New Internationalist and the independent media they stand for .”
4 Free Press Spring 2017