Web Connect: Why?

How close are the media to the people and places they report on? How do they choose what stories to cover, what angle to take and what’s the most important news?

Let’s look at a typical situtation. What is likely to bring a local radio or newspaper reporter to a deprived area of Manchester? Often, a crime that the police has told them about . Or a government press release talking about problems in that area. Or, to be positive, a good-news story that the newsroom has received a press release about.

How likely is it that the journalist lives in that area? Let’s be honest, journalism is a well-paid job for educated people - he or she is not likely to live in a deprived place.

Whose point-of-view will the journalist start from? The one given by the agency that told them about the story, not necessarily the people affected. A good journalist will look for other sources and get a balance, but how much time is there to do this with a breaking news story and pressure to meet deadlines?

Even if local people get their say in the story, how much input will they get? Perhaps a few seconds in an interview, or a couple of lines quoted. How long will the reporter have spent with that person? How well will the journalist be able to relate to the person and get their story out of them? Some journalists are good at this sensitive part of their job; many leave the interviewees feeling patronised, pressured or even used.

Community reporters live among the people they report on. They talk about their own issues in their own way. Their community might be their neighbours, or people they work or share interests with. They are insiders, not outsiders looking in.

Does this mean they make better reports than outside journalists? You might think that their ‘insider’ status means that they won’t have a balanced view and will be biased, whereas a good journalist will try to look at all sides.

There are two answers to this: first, why should a person not be able to be objective about their own community? Close knowledge does not have to mean bias - it can in fact create a better understanding and more detailed picture.

Second, the community reporter can learn to look around them with a critical eye. But how easy is it for the outside journalist to gain community knowledge? Not so easy, from the odd flying visit to the unfamiliar place. Unless they choose to go and live among the community - in which case congratulations, they’ll make an excellent community reporter!

This is the thinking behind the Community Reporters project. We want to give a better insight into the lives of Manchester people, by giving more people the skills and tools to report - and an outlet for their stories.

We want to take advantage of new technology that makes it quick, easy and inexpensive to produce and publish text, pictures, sound and film. In the past these tools were only available to a select bunch of people. Digital technology and the internet have opened up the world of the media to many more people - Manchester’s Community Reporters will make the most of it.