Brave news world for the MEN
September 18th, 2008 by Jon Clements
The new media world of Manchester’s bloggers came face to face with 140 years of newspaper heritage at the Manchester Evening News (MEN) last night.
But even a paper that began life in a “dingy office in Brown Street” has had to change with the times. Now housed in shiny offices, the decor is not the only thing that’s changed.
Assistant news editor, Paul Gallagher, explained how the MEN’s print, online capability and tie-up with Manchester TV station, Channel M, means that decisions on news are very much based on its suitability for the medium, though the paper tends to time the release of online news with the hard copy, so not to compete with itself.
What’s also changed is the way content comes together, combining old fashioned news hounding with readers’ online comments, video taken on reporters’ mobile phones and the work of citizen journalists. As Paul says: “The benchmark for a good story hasn’t changed. But you just have more people contributing to it.”
And the days of the “death knock” - visiting the homes of the recently bereaved in search of a story and, vitally, a photo - may be numbered with newspapers like the MEN turning to online tribute sites for the material they need.
Head of online editorial, Sarah Hartley, described the paper’s move to greater online content and gave a sneak preview of the live blogging and Twittering planned for the Labour Party Conference in Manchester, which starts this Saturday in Manchester.
Still, it was great to see some relics from the past remain, such as the MEN’s hard copy reference library (see pic).
Tags: blogging, Channel M, Labour Party Conference, Manchester Evening News, Sarah Hartley, twitter
September 18th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
It was good to catch up with another relic from the past last night. Hope to catch you again soon. ade
September 18th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
[…] to see it’s not all doom and gloom at the UK’s regional papers. I enjoyed Jon Clements post about the way the 140 year old Manchester Evening News is integrating print, online and broadcast. […]
September 18th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
[…] good to see it’s not all doom and gloom at the UK’s regional papers. I enjoyed Jon Clements post about the way the 140 year old Manchester Evening News is integrating print, online and broadcast. […]
September 18th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Thanks Ade and it’s good to see ShinyRed appreciating a bit of the old news print.
September 19th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Haha, yep, even we like the odd old-school newspaper
Thanks for the post Jon, I used to live, and started doing PR, in Manchester so it was cool to hear how the MEN’s changing.
September 19th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Thanks Jaz
And how newsrooms have changed since I was in the smoke-filled, heart attack-inducing environs of the Nottingham Evening Post, before they relocated, knocked down the building and put a burger bar there.
September 19th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
You’re not kidding, Jon. Fond memories of a scary deputy editor introducing “smoking times” (she was way ahead of the game) in the six-by-four newsroom four of us shared on my first weekly, a cunning alarm code of “1234″ so the 86-year-old cleaner could cope, and hurrying around measuring, cropping and labelling pics so they’d be ready when the shout went up of “the van’s here” - to drive our black and white pics to the stone in Warrington.
And all the time thinking how advanced we were because we had a fax machine and worked on some sort of new computer called an “Apple Mac”…!
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:39 am
Helen
That’s so last century!
Jon
September 22nd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Well I hope the MEN’s brave new world works out for them. But I’m not entirely sure how long this type of centralised model is sustainable.
When I first started working on newspapers everything was done in one building. (Bear with me. I’m older than the hills!) Everything had a physical form - typed copy, photographic plates, paper tapes, printing plates made with hot metal… Then computers came in and printers went out as their skills were replaced by ‘new’ technology. But computers were expensive and office networks were inaccessible from outside, so the newsroom continued to be the hub of production.
Today you won’t find many journalists without a computer and broadband connection. They can have all the tools that they would have access to in the office. Even the move to multimedia doesn’t present a huge financial barrier. Web broadcast quality cameras cost only a few hundred pounds and the price is falling all the time. And even relatively cheap PCs are capable of simple video editing.
I believe physical newsrooms will become less and less important. The main driving force which will destroy them is cost. If companies can reduce their physical infrastructure they will. In some ways this will be destructive to the news-gathering process. Having people around you to bounce ideas off is valuable. But then if the only people you’re talking to are fellow hacks that encourages a very inward-looking perspective.
Anyway, time will tell if I’m right.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:16 am
Nick
I think the last point you make is particularly valid, and is why converging print copy and online is good for journalists and makes for better journalism. When I was a regional newspaper reporter, the only reader feedback I got was when something was wrong. Now, journalists can follow online comments about their story and - hopefully - get a better feel for their audience.