(I am enjoying making each blog post have the worst pun imaginable. Apologies. Especially if the article refers to you.)
So, I went to my first meeting of The Bristol Cable on Tuesday 18th November 2014 at the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft, Bristol. The Bristol Cable is a new bi-monthly (every two months) newspaper for the Bristol region. The first edition of the paper came out in October and they are currently gathering more people and contributors to help with the next edition.
The Bristol Cable is a co-operative, so any one can become a member for a small fee every month and this means that each member has a say in how the paper is run. The Cable was set up last summer partly to combat the very one sided local media in the area. I recommend checking out The Bristol Cable website, in particular the info graphic that describes who owns the local media now . Interesting stuff. So, the Bristol Cable set out to be written by independents, local people with an interest in what happens in our vicinity and further afield.
They are very keen to get participants, and have set out their editorial stance very clearly so that anyone who wants to pitch a story or idea can do so and will know about the parameters that it will have to fit within. Very broadly their stance is that articles, photo-journalism, info graphics etc. should all refer to an issue that affects Bristol, but should be widened out to encompass how this issue might have a wider impact. So, for instance, in the first issue the cover story is about workers in the catering industry. The samples and examples used are all from Bristol; however, we know that the same issues will affect catering workers nationwide. The other interesting limitation/inspiration is that the stories cannot be time sensitive in the way that they are in daily or weekly papers. This means that the stories published must have a long term impact on Bristol. This reduces the need for ‘exclusives’ and ‘scoops’ and will hopefully result in press that examines issues more deeply and tries to get to the underlying cause.
One of the nicest aspects of the meeting is the frankness of the current team about the level of expertise that they have. Basically (in terms of putting together a paper) very little! No one is a trained journalist, but everyone is keen to learn together to make sure that Bristol has an alternative media outlet.
I could add more and more about the ethos that the cable embodies, but you can read all about that on their website. My experience of going to the meeting, and subsequently submitting a pitch to them is that they are hardworking, accessible, friendly and strong. I look forward to completing an article with them. It will be excellent experience for my course and I will be involved in helping to develop a new kind of paper for this area. They also hope to be able to pay contributors in the future, but this is dependent on increasing the membership level so that the paper can sustain itself. In conclusion, help the Bristol Cable and help me by becoming a member for Christmas ! It starts at £1 a month and the paper is free to pick up at a variety of outlets.
So, I went to my first meeting of The Bristol Cable on Tuesday 18th November 2014 at the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft, Bristol. The Bristol Cable is a new bi-monthly (every two months) newspaper for the Bristol region. The first edition of the paper came out in October and they are currently gathering more people and contributors to help with the next edition.
The Bristol Cable is a co-operative, so any one can become a member for a small fee every month and this means that each member has a say in how the paper is run. The Cable was set up last summer partly to combat the very one sided local media in the area. I recommend checking out The Bristol Cable website, in particular the info graphic that describes who owns the local media now . Interesting stuff. So, the Bristol Cable set out to be written by independents, local people with an interest in what happens in our vicinity and further afield.
They are very keen to get participants, and have set out their editorial stance very clearly so that anyone who wants to pitch a story or idea can do so and will know about the parameters that it will have to fit within. Very broadly their stance is that articles, photo-journalism, info graphics etc. should all refer to an issue that affects Bristol, but should be widened out to encompass how this issue might have a wider impact. So, for instance, in the first issue the cover story is about workers in the catering industry. The samples and examples used are all from Bristol; however, we know that the same issues will affect catering workers nationwide. The other interesting limitation/inspiration is that the stories cannot be time sensitive in the way that they are in daily or weekly papers. This means that the stories published must have a long term impact on Bristol. This reduces the need for ‘exclusives’ and ‘scoops’ and will hopefully result in press that examines issues more deeply and tries to get to the underlying cause.
One of the nicest aspects of the meeting is the frankness of the current team about the level of expertise that they have. Basically (in terms of putting together a paper) very little! No one is a trained journalist, but everyone is keen to learn together to make sure that Bristol has an alternative media outlet.
I could add more and more about the ethos that the cable embodies, but you can read all about that on their website. My experience of going to the meeting, and subsequently submitting a pitch to them is that they are hardworking, accessible, friendly and strong. I look forward to completing an article with them. It will be excellent experience for my course and I will be involved in helping to develop a new kind of paper for this area. They also hope to be able to pay contributors in the future, but this is dependent on increasing the membership level so that the paper can sustain itself. In conclusion, help the Bristol Cable and help me by becoming a member for Christmas ! It starts at £1 a month and the paper is free to pick up at a variety of outlets.