Some of the current HOT team: back row, from left, Paul Way-Rider, Erica Smith and Bernard McGinley; front, Nick Terdre, Zelly Restorick and Nick Weekes.

HOT NEEDS HELP!

We are unsure what our future will be when our long-standing editor Nick Terdre retires from active duty at the end of November, writes the HOT collective.

HOT has always been run by a small core of part-time volunteers, and while we have rarely been short of articles, we also rely on our members to perform the tasks of loading up others’ stories to our website’s WordPress editing window and proofing/sub-editing them. All articles are also checked by a third person before being published.

We focus on local matters and events, and we feel our efforts to inform and provide a platform for people to express their views are appreciated by the local community. In fact the subject matter of our articles is extremely wide and varied, and would, we think, be sorely missed.

Members may come and go, for example Erica Smith, like Nick, a founder member, now takes a less active role, but we are rarely short of articles, and there are enough of us to monitor and collate press releases and story contributions. Added to which, since sending out requests for more writers we have had a great response and quite a few more people are interested in writing for us, so the scope of topics has widened….and more are welcome!

However, Nick Terdre plays a unique and essential role with his ‘back room skills’, these are key to ensuring HOT’s future. The person we are hoping to come forward would inherit that role and would monitor writing features, circulating stories received, respond where necessary to stories sent to us, keep an eye on adherence to editorial code, and such like.

We are a member of the Impress regulatory authority and abide by their editorial code and complaints system. We are also a Community Interest Company, which means we have to fulfill the reporting requirements set by Company House, as well as well as file annual tax returns to IMRC. These functions are currently performed by Nick.

If HOT is to keep going in a viable manner we need new blood to help with producing it – investigating, writing, and crucial support tasks: to keep the editorial wheels turning by loading, checking and publishing articles. The experience gained is obviously transferable to other areas, including employment.

It seems hard to imagine that in all Hastings and St Leonards there is not someone young who would like to learn those journalistic skills, or someone already possessing them who has retired and would be willing to fulfill this unique role in our small online publication.

So please: anyone interested, contact us by email (hot@hastingsonlinetimes.co.uk), or meeting with us, and help save our HOT.

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