This week at the Scottish Beacon
A bye from now from Eve Livingstone, celebration of our partner 50th anniversary, insightful discussion on health inequalities and more.
It doesn’t seem too long ago that I wrote in this very same newsletter introducing myself and saying how excited I was to be working with the Scottish Beacon for a short period while founder Rhiannon Davies was away.
But six weeks have flown by - Rhiannon is back, armed with lots of exciting learning and insight from local news projects around the U.S. and Canada, and it’s time for me to hand things back over to her (and, of course, to Juliana, who has been here the whole time doing brilliant work and keeping me right)!
As someone who usually works independently and primarily in a reporting role, the last six weeks have been really interesting and invigorating for me. I’ve loved being in touch with Scottish Beacon partners across the country and hearing about the issues affecting them in their communities - some very specific, and some with overlap and connections to those faced by other partners elsewhere. And I’ve seen for myself the potential of a project like the Scottish Beacon as partners have shared resources, brainstormed together and produced vital journalism that resonates with both local and national audiences.
It’s hard to choose just one highlight, but I really enjoyed meeting partners face-to-face (or screen-to-screen) at the regular partners meeting and discussing possible areas for collaboration. I’ve also really enjoyed reading everyone’s stories as they were submitted and feeling like I’ve gotten to know different areas and communities more closely as a result! Alongside helping at the Scottish Beacon, I provided some support to Greater Govanhill magazine in Rhiannon’s absence too, which also taught me a lot about community-based media; it was particularly great to see firsthand the strong, trusting and reciprocal relationships that reporters have with members of the local community.
If I wasn’t already, the last six weeks have turned me into a dedicated Scottish Beacon fan. I’m excited to keep reading partners’ brilliant journalism and to see where the project goes next with so many exciting possibilities in the mix.
Eve Livingston
Latest from Scottish Beacon partners…
Greater Govanhill: Building Community on Four Wheels
Amid the pandemic's closures and restrictions, the yearning to rediscover the outdoors and recapture a normal life spurred some people to embrace a unique challenge on four wheels.
The Ileach: Islay: A Quantum magnetometer at Finlaggan
In early October, researchers from the University of Strathclyde successfully deployed specialised equipment at Finlaggan Farm in Islay.
Shetland News: Concern over lack of consultation on council tax freeze
Shetland Islands Council leader Emma Macdonald expressed surprise at the unexpected announcement from First Minister Humza Yousaf to freeze council tax throughout Scotland.
The Orkney News: The devastating impact of the cost of living on unpaid carers
A groundbreaking study conducted by Carers Scotland exposes the harsh financial struggles endured by Scotland's 800,000 unpaid carers.
Forres Local: From international adventures to hometown ambitions: Findhorn sisters plan to acquire their village shop
Determined siblings with roots in Findhorn are embarking on a mission to raise £100,000 to purchase their cherished hometown store, where they've dedicated their efforts since their school days.
News from the network
Greater Govanhill and The Ferret invite you to a conversation on how to tackle health inequalities in Scotland.
This year, Greater Govanhill and The Ferret have been dedicated to a project shedding light on solutions to address health disparities in Scotland.
Some of these stories are published on the Scottish Beacon website.
To conclude the project, they are inviting the public for an event where they will share some of the solutions reported and want to hear from the public what they should be reporting on and how the media can do better in this area. Reserve your free space here.
To learn more about the project, we recommend listening to our three-part podcast, The Ferret Investigates.. the health gap
Our partner, The Ileach, is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this week, and you can check their very first edition from 1973. Find more.
Meet our partners…
In each newsletter, we’ll introduce you to one of our partners. This week, it is the turn of Julian Calvert - Editor of The Lochside Press
Tell us about your publication.
The Lochside Press is online only and based on the Rosneath Peninsula, on the west coast about 45 miles from Glasgow by road.
It's quite a rural area, covering areas which are very popular with tourists, such as Loch Lomond, as well as two large naval bases; there is a pedestrian ferry to Gourock, and the Waverley paddle steamer also calls here (the pic is from a trip on the Waverley this summer).
How/when/why did you get involved?
I started the site 11 years ago as I wanted to learn how to use WordPress for my work as a university lecturer; initially, I planned to make it a blog about winemaking, but then some changes to my local ferry service emerged, which put it at risk, so I decided to wrote news stories about that instead and soon realised that I'd forgotten how much I enjoy finding and writing local news stories - every aspect, from the buzz of getting an exclusive to the detail of how stories are worded and structured.
What does your average day look like when working for the publication?
I have a long commute to the university in Glasgow and often spend that working on stories, and I also work in the evenings and weekends; I'm lucky also in that my wife Fiona is a freelance journalist, and I can use some of her stories, while I also have access to copy from a Local Democracy Reporter.
Tell us about something you are proud of - whether it be a particular story you broke or an impact you had on an issue.
Ten years ago, Argyll and Bute Council decided to sell off a listed building just up the road from me, which had originally been the village school and then a community centre. An 'under offer' sign soon appeared - but 12 months later, the sale still hadn't gone through, so I contacted the council press office, who said negotiations were ongoing. I got precisely the same response 12 months later, and the year after that, so I wondered how many other buildings the council-owned were standing empty. I made an FOI request, and after nine months, the answer finally came through - nearly 40 empty buildings with an estimated value of £3m. One of the buildings listed as empty was actually being used as a butcher's shop by an elected councillor. The council then literally put its empty buildings on the agenda of meetings, and now almost all of them are either being used or have been sold.
How does the existence of your publication benefit the community you serve?
Being on a peninsula, we're often literally bypassed by decision-makers in local government, so I wanted to give the local community a voice - our local hall and library had already been closed down by the council and are now run by volunteers, while both local schools had been threatened with closure. There have been a series of issues where publicity I've provided has helped, ranging from bizarre plans to spend £10m on a huge new pontoon and breakwater despite no one wanting it to raising the profile of appeals or supporting charities.
What made you want to join the Scottish Beacon?
I'm very interested in how independent news organisations can work together - many problems, such as finance and dealing with social media, will be shared, even though all the publications have their distinct character. While I was a newspaper editor, I was awarded a bursary to attend a conference in the USA run by the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, and their mutual support network was very impressive - it would be great if we had something similar here.
Why does independent, community-based local news matter?
Journalism has more influence at a local level than anywhere else, and with many mainstream news organisations now being based outside the area they cover, there is a real risk of public authorities not being held to account - in my case, that's the MoD (the largest local employer by far), the council, CalMac, CMAL, the trust that runs libraries and leisure centres... All of these produce their own social media content (which Meta gives greater prominence than news reports), but this is very often quite a partial view - there is nothing like someone who is locally based asking awkward questions.
Elsewhere in local news…
Recognising the significance of providing accurate and current information amid the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Centre for Community Media has compiled a comprehensive resource list. This compilation serves as a valuable reporting guide and aims to support journalists in nurturing their mental well-being when covering sensitive stories.
This Saturday in Bristol, the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) will host the Independent News Forum, bringing together independent news providers from various corners of the UK. This event marks the second annual gathering of independent news publishers by PINF, with a mission to foster connections within the industry, exchange accomplishments, and collectively outline future objectives to enhance public interest journalism that resonates with and serves our communities.
In Glasgow, the Centre for Investigative Journalism hosts a day of talks and workshops in partnership with the National Library of Scotland.
If you’ve made it this far, we hope you are enjoying the Beacon and what we have to offer. If you want to support the project to keep it going, you can become a member by clicking the button below.
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