local

Article

Operation Bullfinch: how to handle a tricky story

April 2012
police, reporting, regional press, Oxford Mail, NUJ, local, journalism law, crime

Regular reporting is tough enough to get right – but when you’re covering a crime story involving the sex trafficking of underage girls, it’s a legal and ethical minefield. And that’s before you think about how to handle your relationship with the police. But when the Oxford Mail newsdesk found out about Operation Bullfinch, the police investigation into an Oxford child prostitution ring, reporters rose to the challenge.

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Blog post

The unmet demand for quality reporting

March 2012
Witney, regional news, Oxfordshire, local, journalism, community newspapers, community journalism, Cogges Link Road

Last autumn I spent an unexpected amount of time in Witney Methodist Church. No, I hadn’t suddenly become religious; I was reporting a public inquiry into a local planning issue and the Methodist Church was where it took place.

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Blog post

The model behind the curtain

August 2011
Witney TV, Witney, twitterwashing, Oxfordshire, NUJ, local, journalism, democracy

Jeremy Hunt has now announced plans to give out licences for local television stations. Ofcom has identified 65 towns and cities where local terrestrial TV is technically possible and these places will be invited to bid for licences.

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Article

Cutting carbon begins at home

2011: May
local government, local, environment, energy, climate change

The current government promised to be the “greenest government ever”, but the UK’s carbon emissions are still too high, risking catastrophic climate change. However, many people don’t realise that 80% of emissions are as a result of local activity. We talk a lot about government action, but it’s time to bring the discussion closer to home.

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Blog post

Why we should save the opt-outs

May 2011
regional news, Oxfordshire, Oxford, NUJ, local, Jersey, Cambridge, BBC

The BBC is currently considering axing three of its regional news services. The local “opt-outs” for Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Jersey (plus surrounding areas) may be closed as part of the BBC’s money-saving drive, misleadingly branded “Delivering Quality First”. This blog post was written to answer some of the more common questions about the proposals.

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Blog post

Northcliffe: how not to do local

September 2008
print media, NUJ, Northcliffe Media, national newspapers, local, DMGT

Northcliffe Media is going all local. Or, as the annual report and accounts for 2007 puts it, “[i]t has been revitalised as an integrated provider of local media services”. The company, part of the Daily Mail group, intends to expand its "online network of ultra local news [...] to over 120 community portals" by the end of the year.

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