Marvellous news from our friends in the far north. The West Highland Free Press is to become that rarest of rare entities - an employee-owned local newspaper.
Press Gazette blog The Wire is reporting that the title's owners have agreed to sell to their staff who are supported by ownership investment vehicle the Baxi Partnership.
This is a refreshing outlook from all three key parties and my best wishes go to the Isle of Skye's terrific ten. Here's to you, here's to success - and here's to the ripple effects of your inspirational move.
The paper may have a weekly sales figure of under 9,000 but it's a respected provider of a crucial local service and, importantly, is an enterprise with a long and very relevant future.
Encouragingly, there are strong indications that the new owners will not simply produce a decent paper. The Wire reports that the WHFP - meshed by an employee benefits trust to hold staff shares and maintain independence - wishes to create a news agency and further develop digital platforms.
Looking at the broader picture, a press release on the Baxi website states: "This year the UK Employee Ownership Index (EOI) revealed that employee owned companies outperformed the FTSE All-Share in the second quarter of 2009 by 19.9%."
Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) has played a big part in this development which was unable to tap into traditional routes of finance. CDS chief exec Sarah Deas is quoted as saying: "Research shows that employee-owned businesses are more productive and sustainable, so there is enormous potential for this type of ownership model to contribute to the development of Scotland's economy. Encouraging more business owners to consider an employee buyout is a priority and we are working to build awareness across the business community.”
There's so much food for thought here that I couldn't possibly manage another mouthful of this evening's neeps and tatties.
More
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/5756
www.baxipartnership.co.uk
www.whfp.com
Thanks for the tip-off
Ms Victoria Trott, one of Wales' finest travel writers - www.victoriatrott.com
Showing posts with label journalists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label journalists. Show all posts
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Heartstrings and headlines
The story of the out-of-work Welsh journalist may not tug at the heartstrings and it's unlikely to hit the headlines. A cocktail of inhuman old stereotypes and distant mega-media managements in self-preservation mode will ensure the lack of furore.
Yet the work sector in which these (mainly) hardworking, modestly paid professionals operate is undergoing a revolution. It's difficult to predict who the winners will be. Or whether there'll be any.
Radical times call for radical thinking and that's what's been occupying the minds of a working party from the National Union of Journalists' Swansea and District branch.
For two months the group has been considering options with one common aim: creating work for freelance and out-of-work journalists based in south-west Wales.
Experts have been consulted, gatherings of interested individuals called, miles clocked, coffees consumed and valued new acquaintances made. Those in the know from the worlds of business start-ups, the co-operative movement and the community regeneration sector have been encouragingly helpful and supportive.
Now - crucially - a marketplace has been identified, trading principles agreed and options for business models are on the table. It may well be that this is an opportunity not to be missed.
It's also time for the union to hand over the reins to a team of members who are passionate about going it alone (with the branch's wholehearted backing and support, of course) and who will take the project forward.
As cliches go, it's now or never - the idea, the marketplace and the professional assistance awaits. All that's needed now is hard work, vision and a great dollop of the teamwork ethic.
Let's get together To find out more, to get involved, to get energised and to start generating work meet up on Monday, October 12, from 6-7pm in the Swansea Yacht Club, close to the maritime quarter's Dylan Thomas Centre.
Details Andy Pearson - 07758 745 240, andy@hopestreetmedia.co.uk
Yet the work sector in which these (mainly) hardworking, modestly paid professionals operate is undergoing a revolution. It's difficult to predict who the winners will be. Or whether there'll be any.
Radical times call for radical thinking and that's what's been occupying the minds of a working party from the National Union of Journalists' Swansea and District branch.
For two months the group has been considering options with one common aim: creating work for freelance and out-of-work journalists based in south-west Wales.
Experts have been consulted, gatherings of interested individuals called, miles clocked, coffees consumed and valued new acquaintances made. Those in the know from the worlds of business start-ups, the co-operative movement and the community regeneration sector have been encouragingly helpful and supportive.
Now - crucially - a marketplace has been identified, trading principles agreed and options for business models are on the table. It may well be that this is an opportunity not to be missed.
It's also time for the union to hand over the reins to a team of members who are passionate about going it alone (with the branch's wholehearted backing and support, of course) and who will take the project forward.
As cliches go, it's now or never - the idea, the marketplace and the professional assistance awaits. All that's needed now is hard work, vision and a great dollop of the teamwork ethic.
Let's get together To find out more, to get involved, to get energised and to start generating work meet up on Monday, October 12, from 6-7pm in the Swansea Yacht Club, close to the maritime quarter's Dylan Thomas Centre.
Details Andy Pearson - 07758 745 240, andy@hopestreetmedia.co.uk
Monday, June 29, 2009
Co-operative working - the DIY way forward for journalists?
Could it work? A co-operative working agreement between freelance journalists in a corner of Britain dominated by media monopolies?
Well, that's an idea the National Union of Journalists' Swansea and District branch have started to explore.
The aim would be to create work for freelance and out-of-work branch members in an area covering Port Talbot to Aberystwyth. It's a big ask - but if we don't try who else will?
The recession means lost jobs in the traditional media and fewer freelance opportunities. However, it also creates opportunities. There’s a demand for news and information so why don’t we – the experts - supply it and make a fair living from it? Could we run a grassroots-up network using agreed union rates? Could we complement the big boys of the patch - Northcliffe, Newsquest and the BBC?
The first move is a series of three exploratory meetings to gather the thoughts of members - the first was on June 25 in the Uplands Diner, Uplands, Swansea.
The second is from 7-8pm on July 1 at Costa Coffee, Penllergaer Services, on the M4; number three is from 1-2pm on July 9 in the cafe at Swansea's Dylan Thomas Centre.
Feedback will then be circulated to members who, with help from co-op experts, will decide on a way forward.
That Uplands meeting heard there was a UK-wide support network for co-ops – see www.cooperatives-uk.coop, www.wales.coop - with much expertise to call upon. Individual support and encouragement has been indicated by co-ops with similar skill-sets - Alpha Communication (www.alpha.coop, Durham) and The Very People (www.theverypeople.co.uk, Scotland)
The biggest journalism-based co-op seems to be Associated Press, a global news agency serving multi-media platforms. Could we go down the news agency route with multi-media offerings?
Other media co-ops, the Uplands Diner gathering was told, include the New Internationalist (a London-based social affairs mag) and Wisconsin’s 70-year-old weekly Inter-County Leader newspaper (7,000 circulation75 payroll).
No Welsh journalism-based co-ops have been found and advertising professionals say revenue generation is tough but winnable with right product in right market … and with much groundwork.
One ploy, of course is that rather than starting an enterprise from scratch, we buy-out a company, run it along co-op lines and develop new-media lines. Any available?
The UN, incidentally, has placed its support firmly behind co-ops; indeed, July 4 is International Day of Cooperatives. Sec Gen Ban Ki-moon urging greater government and consumer support for co-ops.
So are there opportunities to fill gaps left by established media? Can we offer news from fresh sources, not relying on PR? Could we encourage freelances to develop new sources?
Could we work as an agency – offering a news service, information provision, training opportunities? Could we embrace help/assistance from various quarters such as start-up agencies, training bodies and business funders?
The co-op model chosen will be crucial: how would the shareholder system operate; would charity status be required; how would a possible board run the co-op (and would it require representatives from other community interests?); or perhaps a member-run organisation would be the most applicable.
Is ‘special interest’ journalism is the way forward? Is special local issue-based journalism the way forward - for example, the environment. Immediacy is important, so could we test the water with e-newsletter carrying grassroots local news?
Is there a gap in the local market for traditional local news reporting such as crime, council and court? Can we plug the gap? There's a quarterly community newsletter in North Gower - The People’s Estuary - which suggests a market for local news. It has attracted Assembly finding and volunteer help. Warning 1: The Swansea Standard local paper launched a few years ago but it was sunk when the South Wales Evening Post dropped ad rates. Warning 2: The cost of print media is high – so should we look to first create a web-based product?
Hey - you tell us! Come to a meeting or reply to the blog.
Well, that's an idea the National Union of Journalists' Swansea and District branch have started to explore.
The aim would be to create work for freelance and out-of-work branch members in an area covering Port Talbot to Aberystwyth. It's a big ask - but if we don't try who else will?
The recession means lost jobs in the traditional media and fewer freelance opportunities. However, it also creates opportunities. There’s a demand for news and information so why don’t we – the experts - supply it and make a fair living from it? Could we run a grassroots-up network using agreed union rates? Could we complement the big boys of the patch - Northcliffe, Newsquest and the BBC?
The first move is a series of three exploratory meetings to gather the thoughts of members - the first was on June 25 in the Uplands Diner, Uplands, Swansea.
The second is from 7-8pm on July 1 at Costa Coffee, Penllergaer Services, on the M4; number three is from 1-2pm on July 9 in the cafe at Swansea's Dylan Thomas Centre.
Feedback will then be circulated to members who, with help from co-op experts, will decide on a way forward.
That Uplands meeting heard there was a UK-wide support network for co-ops – see www.cooperatives-uk.coop, www.wales.coop - with much expertise to call upon. Individual support and encouragement has been indicated by co-ops with similar skill-sets - Alpha Communication (www.alpha.coop, Durham) and The Very People (www.theverypeople.co.uk, Scotland)
The biggest journalism-based co-op seems to be Associated Press, a global news agency serving multi-media platforms. Could we go down the news agency route with multi-media offerings?
Other media co-ops, the Uplands Diner gathering was told, include the New Internationalist (a London-based social affairs mag) and Wisconsin’s 70-year-old weekly Inter-County Leader newspaper (7,000 circulation75 payroll).
No Welsh journalism-based co-ops have been found and advertising professionals say revenue generation is tough but winnable with right product in right market … and with much groundwork.
One ploy, of course is that rather than starting an enterprise from scratch, we buy-out a company, run it along co-op lines and develop new-media lines. Any available?
The UN, incidentally, has placed its support firmly behind co-ops; indeed, July 4 is International Day of Cooperatives. Sec Gen Ban Ki-moon urging greater government and consumer support for co-ops.
So are there opportunities to fill gaps left by established media? Can we offer news from fresh sources, not relying on PR? Could we encourage freelances to develop new sources?
Could we work as an agency – offering a news service, information provision, training opportunities? Could we embrace help/assistance from various quarters such as start-up agencies, training bodies and business funders?
The co-op model chosen will be crucial: how would the shareholder system operate; would charity status be required; how would a possible board run the co-op (and would it require representatives from other community interests?); or perhaps a member-run organisation would be the most applicable.
Is ‘special interest’ journalism is the way forward? Is special local issue-based journalism the way forward - for example, the environment. Immediacy is important, so could we test the water with e-newsletter carrying grassroots local news?
Is there a gap in the local market for traditional local news reporting such as crime, council and court? Can we plug the gap? There's a quarterly community newsletter in North Gower - The People’s Estuary - which suggests a market for local news. It has attracted Assembly finding and volunteer help. Warning 1: The Swansea Standard local paper launched a few years ago but it was sunk when the South Wales Evening Post dropped ad rates. Warning 2: The cost of print media is high – so should we look to first create a web-based product?
Hey - you tell us! Come to a meeting or reply to the blog.
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