With two weeks to go, we announce our programme for the Edinburgh event!
Featuring speakers including Richard Leonard MSP, Talat Yaqoob, Joyce Mcmillan, Jen Stout, Rachel Hamada and many more.
After the unexpectedly early call for the general election, up and down the country our partners are getting ready for what is always one of the busiest times for journalists covering local news and political issues.
We’ll soon be sharing information about our Citizens Agenda project that puts people first in shaping how local publishes cover the election campaign.
But for now, we’re excited to announce the publication of the programme for our ‘No News is Bad News’ event happening as part of Indie News Week on 7 June in Edinburgh.
We’re looking forward to bringing together this fascinating group of speakers for interactive talks, workshops, networking and more.
Tickets are still available but selling fast, get yours here for £0-30
Latest from our website…
Glenkens Gazette: School mothballing halted: reflecting on victory of local campaigners
United community action has successfully halted Council plans to mothball Dalry Secondary School without consultation. Communities across the Glenkens are continuing to work together for the future of Glenkens education.
The Edinburgh Reporter: A letter from Scotland on the housing emergency
"Scotland has an official 'housing emergency'. The Scottish Parliament declared this to be so on Wednesday, as if it were a surprise. We now have to add this to the 'climate emergency' and the 'drugs emergency' and you can see we are living in dangerous times." writes John Knox for the Edinburgh Reporter, in his plea for government officials to take the housing emergency seriously.
Greater Govanhill: ‘These are our Neighbours’: Three years on from Kenmure Street, what’s changed?
Three years ago, Glasgow united to halt a dawn raid on Kenmure Street. Activist Tabassum Niamat and Human Rights Coordinator Pinar Aksu revisit the day, discussing challenges in the immigration system and highlighting hostility in current policies.
Midlothian View: Colin Beattie, MSP: “An efficient public transport system is essential”
MSP Colin Beattie explains why an efficient public transport system is essential in his regular column for the Midlothian View.
Elsewhere in local news...
The Public Interest News Foundation have released the 2024 version of their Local News Map – which aims to understand how well (or poorly) communities across the UK are served by local media outlets. You can find the web version here and a downloadable PDF here. However it has been criticised by some for not showing a true picture of the local news landscape as it does not include those publications operating as sole traders – including some of our Scottish Beacon partners.
The establishment of a News Futures Forum, which brings together news producers, distributors, policymakers, and other stakeholders, is essential to address the crisis affecting trustworthy public-interest news in the UK, according to new research led by the University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) Media Innovation Studio. Read the full report here.
We’ve been following with interest the Manchester Mill this week who – after being threatened with legal action in the face of a damning story about a local figure – asked their readers to take part in community investigation to help prove their findings were accurate. Read more here.