Johnston Press says: In a bold experiment – the first of its kind in the country - The Local in Bourne, Lincolnshire, is re-positioning itself as ‘the people’s paper’, inviting local people to submit photographs, articles and reviews about the things that interest them. Readers will even be able to add items to the pages of their local paper from the comfort of their own homes using the latest technology adopted by Johnston Press.
Mark Edwards, JP editorial director for the Midlands and group editor of the Bourne Local, said: “Our journalistic resource is precious and our reporters will still be out in the town covering the key stories and issues. What we hope this project will allow us to do is cast our net wider and include more community news written by our readers - and in some cases written directly on to the pages of the week’s newspaper.
“Sections like village news and readers’ letters have always been hugely popular and this project is all about bringing the local community together, offering them the chance to contribute to the paper the kind of material they and their friends and families want to read.
“We have always worked hard to include local content: now we hope, thanks to the technology that’s available, to be able to open that door wider than ever.”
Mark said the project will be overseen by journalists who will curate submitted content.
He added: “The usual legal and ethical constraints will apply and so will those of public interest and relevance.”
Material will also appear on the Bourne Local website, expanding the digital coverage of local news to create a more interactive online community.
The trial was launched on Friday with the front page of the Bourne Local inviting readers to sign up to be a part of the new era for their local paper. The Local will continue to be published over the next few weeks with the first ‘people’s paper’ edition in late November.
