What’s the buzz in Hastings?

Our liberal democracy expects and indeed needs its citizens to be well-informed. Compared with the abundance of news on the national stage, however, we are less well served at the  local level. Nick Terdre reports on the Local News Matters campaign.

Nationally we can’t complain about the amount of news coverage, even if we might question the quality. News is communicated to us through an array of newspaper titles, TV and radio and myriad online sources courtesy of the internet. For some of us it’s more than enough, and that’s without even thinking of the contribution of social media to the propagation of news, not to mention non news and false reports.

On the regional and local level the state of news coverage and commentary often leaves a lot to desire, which is what the recent Local News Matters campaign run by the National Union of Journalists was intended to spotlight.

According to a survey by the Press Gazette, in the 10 years to 2015 some 200 of 1,320 regional and local titles, equivalent to 15%, closed. Many titles reduced their frequency to once a week and the numbers of journalists employed is believed to have been substantially reduced, perhaps by as much as half.

Ownership

Ownership is an important question at national level, but also locally, where three quarters of titles are owned by four publishers. The largest of these is Johnston Press, publisher of Hastings Observer (which recently imposed a six-month pay freeze on its journalists).

Concerned at the fate of independent, investigative journalism in the face of such a concentration of ownership and an accompanying focus on the financial bottom line, the NUJ has petitioned culture secretary, Karen Bradley to look into the matter.

So how does all this play out in Hastings? We get broadcast coverage at regional level from the BBC, and local news coverage from More radio and the weekly Observer. These are commercial operations – on the voluntary side we have the printed Hastings Independent Press and Hastings Online Times.

Positive feedback

We thought we’d ask some of the people we most write about – politicians, activist groups, arts bodies – what they thought about our contribution. We didn’t receive many replies – perhaps some of these we contacted just thought we were fishing for compliments – but those we did receive are encouraging of our efforts.

With a small staff of part-time volunteers, we are not about to start competing on equal terms with the commercial publications, but it is clear that our brand of journalism is appreciated and makes its own contribution to local coverage. Certainly in the case of HOT, and probably also in the case of HIP, one of the reasons behind our formation was dissatisfaction with the Observer‘s coverage.

The comments are below, presented in randomised order, the longer ones somewhat edited down. You can make up your own mind, and, if you like, add your own comment.

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Steve Kilmartin, Kim Hall, Zoom Arts
Firstly I would like to state that Hastings Online Times has been instrumental in helping The Zoom Arts Group flourish. Also informing the people of Hastings of upcoming exhibitions and events, that has aided the health of the local art scene. Can Hastings do without local news agencies like the Hastings Online Times? The answer is simply, NO.

We at Zoom have found Hastings Online Times to be a valuable source of support in the local community. As a small self funded group of artists from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of different skills, to be able to exhibit together in one unique group is vitally important.

Having close ties with HOT has meant that some artists have appeared in published articles online; thereby supporting the individual and Zoom as a Group to be considered a serious Art group. We have gone from strength to strength over the years and this has been helped enormously by the likes of HOT for allowing us the opportunity to better ourselves (when mainstream journalism would not be interested), develop and become a viable Art group.

In my own opinion, i think generally people are becoming tired of the Hastings Observer for its ability to downbeat Hastings and St Leonards. Publications such as HOT and Hastings Independent present the town in a much more truthful, positive & less politically led light, embracing all that is good and different about our area.

Amber Rudd MP
Local newspapers are the cornerstone of journalism and are relied on by the communities they serve. As you correctly point out, their journaists perform a vital role in a functioning democracy. Voters need to know what is going on if they are to make informed decisions, and it is the job of the press to hold those in elected office to account.

The Hastings Online Times makes a valuable contribution to journalism in Hastings and St Leonards. From a wide-ranging events guide to the reporting of the key issues facing our towns and their residents, I have been impressed by the key role your publication plays in helping to ensure that the constituents I have the great privilege to represent are as well informed as possible.

Nick Perry, LibDem parliamentary candidate
In my experience HOT has been interested in those local political stories that have involved facts, figures and a reasonable amount of digging. It has been pretty much without political bias. And is the only such organ of print or online news in the constituency.’

Chris Hurrell, member of Save Ecclesbourne Glen group
Hastings’ one local commercial newpaper, the Hastings and St Leonards Observer, has fallen in quality of content and does not give good local news coverage in terms of breadth nor depth. I have stopped buying it.

Hastings is fortunate in that we have two independent news sources: Hastings Independent which is published every fortnight and the Hastings Online Times (HOTTIE) which is an online news source.

The HOTTIE is able as an online news source to cover in both breadth and depth a variety of local issues that cannot be covered by printed newspapers.

I am also involved in a campaign group which campaigns on some quite technical and detailed issues concerning local planning matters. The HOTTIE has published articles on these issues in a very objective and professional manner. I am impressed by its objectivity and its insistence that all claims made by interested parties are substantiated.

I fear that without such resources many local people and groups would have no voice. As such the HOTTIE plays a vital role in maintaining local democracy and ensuring that local affairs are covered in an open and transparent manner. The coverage provided has been a vital part of our campaign and has allowed our voice to be heard by a wide range of people.

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