Hold the front page

Deep inside the heart of the Watershed, in a compact space dotted with colourful Post-its, photos and hand-written scrawling, two young journalists are furiously typing away.

As content creators for Rife, Bristol’s youth-led platform, both are passionate about the world around them, informed and eager to make their voices heard – but they don’t like traditional media and don’t see a place for it in their lives.

“Particularly when it comes to young people, newspapers have failed to engage readers,” says Ella Brandt, 23.

“I don’t think I’ve read a newspaper in years, because I get everything from the internet these days. In order for people to pick up a print copy of something these days, it has to be pretty special.”

Ella Brandt says she would pursue a career in journalism, but on her own terms

For her colleague Mikael Techane, 19, the problem lies in a lack of representation among the mainstream press and the skewed views he says it gives readers.

“I get most of my information from Instagram and YouTube,” he says. “The bad news that’s shown on the mainstream media, it just creates more divisions. We need to be able to form our own opinions based on the full picture.”

He adds: “I would definitely want a career in journalism, especially since coming to Rife, I have realised how much it means to be to be able to have a voice.”

Ella agrees that she’d like to pursue a career in journalism, but on her own terms.

Mikael believes a lot of the news put out in the mainstream media only creates more divisions

The world has changed immeasurably since the days when news was delivered purely in print, headlines hollered out by vendors with ink-stained fingers, but the media is arguably more important than ever.

At its worst, a vehicle of a wealthy elite, used to spread hate, prejudice and fear; the press at its best is vital for democracy, uncovering truths, forging change in society and giving a voice to those who would otherwise be silenced.

There have been some Bristol casualties in the decline in print, with the much-loved, once-independent what’s on magazine, Venue, finally limping off to the great newsstand in the sky in November 2013.

In the words of its former music editor Julian Owen, the magazine that ran for 31 years “suffered death by a thousand cuts and a colourful assortment of full-frontal stabbings”.

Despite a national decline in print and growing disengagement, Bristol boasts a diverse media scene that has a strong independent voice against all odds. But is it sustainable?

Even the national newspaper giants are navigating stormy seas, with The Independent going purely online in 2016 and Reach – owner of the Daily Mirror and Bristol Post among others – reporting a £113m half-year loss in July.

Simon Fox, CEO of Reach, offered limited hope saying he had no plans to close print editions “at the moment”.

Mike Norton is optimistic about the future of newspapers

But Mike Norton, editor of the Bristol Post and editor-in-chief of the regional Reach group, is very optimistic about the future of journalism.

“The media landscape has fragmented,” he told Bristol24/7. “There used to be several big players who had a monopoly on content and advertising, now it’s all been disrupted by, usually digital, players,” he says, adding that it’s not a bad thing.

“While our print product has got less traction because the market has fragmented, our audience has never been bigger. And the Post is still read by 20,000 people a day, so there are still people prepared to pay for it.”

Beyond the readership, Norton says he is trying to reset the Post’s relationship with communities in Bristol – not for commercial reasons, he claims, but because he wants the publication to be seen as welcoming to all.

“We are the mainstream media so we get a lot of criticism, and I get that,” he continues, arguing against the accusation that quality has been compromised and dismissing a “golden age of newspapers” that people talk about as “bollocks”.

“Don’t be too negative about the future,” he concludes. “Because that undermines the young people who do see a career in journalism and are being given the skills to have one. The future is much brighter than people will tell you.

“I don’t know whether or not there will be a daily newspaper – it depends what our audience want, but at the moment, there’s an appetite for one.”

As much doom and gloom as you may hear around the industry, there’s a dogged determination in Bristol to keep the enduring legacy of independent journalism alive – with journalists willing to work long hours for peanuts to get their stories out there.

Bristol24/7 was founded in 2015 as a community interest company and extends beyond the boundaries of a traditional publication with social impact projects that make a difference to the lives of people in the city.

In June of this year, it won an employer partner award at Bristol City Council’s Employment, Learning & Skills Awards for its engagement with young people.

Bristol24/7 Deputy Editor Jess Connett receiving an award for our work experience programme

Bristol24/7 Editor Martin Booth believes that there has never been a more interesting time to be a journalist, saying: “The Bristol media landscape that we currently find ourselves in is fascinating, with more ways for people to find out what is happening in Bristol than ever before; a challenge that is both daunting and extremely exciting.”

Sharing the same offices as Bristol24/7, Wildfire Comms is the publishing company behind Bristol Property Live, a weekly publication that acts primarily as a property guide, but has become almost as well known for its coverage of local culture, lifestyle and news, feeding a constant appetite in the city for information on what’s going on and where to go.

Adam Cantwell-Corn says some of the trust in local journalism has been lost

For the Bristol Cable, the key to biting back at big corporate-owned media was to put the community at the heart of what they do with a publicly-owned publication.

“We launched in 2014 and the context was against the decline and quality of local journalism,” says co-director Adam Cantwall-Corn. “We thought what was needed to address that was a different sort of approach.

“We are just trying to regain the sense of affiliation in the community that local journalism should have, and still does to a certain degree, but it’s been lost slightly with the papers.

“One of the big gaps that we saw needed filling was in investigative journalism and we focus on that.”

Cantwell-Corn says that the industry is always under-resourced and part of the problem is the cultural narrative whereby people do not expect to pay for journalism.

He adds: “For me, it’s not the question of print versus non-print, it’s actually what’s on those pages and what will get people to pay for it.

“People often say you will not know what you had until you miss it, but I’m not sure that’s the case with journalism, because important stories will just not come to light.”

A local democracy reporter pilot scheme, funded by the BBC, was launched in March in recognition of the impact cuts to journalism have had on holding councils to account.

The influx of trained reporters tasked with doing just that has helped revive the sector and ensures authorities and institutions are operating genuinely in the public eye.

News, information and entertainment is constantly available at the click of a button, but Rich Coulter, who co-founded the Voice series along with his co-director Emma Cooper, argues there is still an appetite for hyper local news.

“I think the bigger papers have a different focus now and the consequence of that is a gap in the market for publications that focus on the local community,” says Coulter, who was previously assistant editor at the Bristol Post.

“I totally get that the big players cannot attend every little parish meeting, but I think without us, they would not be covered at all. We are filling a gap, but they do things we can’t – cover court for instance.

“There is a tendency to pit us all against each other, but actually across the landscape, we are all filling the gaps.”

Bristol’s expanding population poses more opportunities for print and a brand new bilingual publication has just recently launched with the aim of informing Somali readers and fostering understanding among different communities across the city.

Created by Khaalid Ahmed, Said Hussein, author of the first Somali language book about autism and Khalil Abdi, chair of Bristol Horn Youth Concern, KOBCIYE is a quarterly magazine that features articles written in Somali and translated into English.

The team behind Up Our Street aim to promote diversity and celebrate local communities (left to right: Tracy Parsons, Stacy Yelland, Emily Fifield and Michaela Freie)

Up Our Street, another community magazine catering to a local readership in East Bristol, has been recognised for its value in helping to unite communities through awards for diversity.

Director Stacy Yelland says the quarterly publication doesn’t set out to publish hard-hitting journalism, yet plays a vital role in celebrating a diverse community and giving people a voice.

“The primary focus for us is celebrating the people and the place and instilling a sense of pride,” she says.

“It’s about the lives behind the faces and getting to know your neighbours.”

Print is far from dead in Bristol, but it is struggling. A culture in which people don’t expect to pay for news, entertainment and information is taking its toll across the industry, regardless of the platform.

But as long as there’s a story to tell, there will always be journalists willing to get it out there: an enduring legacy of which Bristol can be proud.

The old Bristol Times & Mirror building in St Stephen’s Street

Representation matters

Bristol’s media scene is vibrant, vital and varied, but it still fails to represent the diverse makeup of the city: something that needs to change.

Recognition that the city’s local press follows a national trend in being disproportionately white, male and middle class has particularly come to the fore this year. But those who have been fighting for change for years are tired of waiting, so what’s being done now to address the situation?

Rife, curated by and for young people of all background across the city, is bucking the trend.

Sammy Jones says she hopes the young journalists at Rife represent the future of media

“Rife’s most important role is to introduce young people from backgrounds that would not be represented in the mainstream media into journalism jobs,” says written content editor Sammy Jones.

“It’s raising aspirations of young people and showing that their views are just as relevant and you do not have to be a certain type of person to work in this industry.

“I really hope that the people we put through Rife represent the future of journalism, because it needs to be a more balanced view of what our country looks like in the media.”

Vocalise seeks to promote diversity in writing

Steve Mcnaught, assistant editor of Vocalise magazine, which is distributed around the Ashley ward area says a key focus of the publication is promoting diversity.

The magazine’s charity arm, Arkbound Foundation, actively seeks to support people from disadvantaged backgrounds, helping them to find a voice and forge a career in writing.

But it’s the mainstream media that needs to change.

Aware of how unrepresentative the newsroom is, Mike Norton says that the Bristol Post is now launching a post-16 apprenticeship training programme, specifically targeting people from backgrounds that are currently underrepresented.

“I have tried really hard to encourage people from low income backgrounds and particularly BAME and I have failed,” Norton told Bristol24/7.

“I’m now accepting people at 16 because I’m determined to make the newsrooms more representative. If it’s the last thing I do, it will be that. The challenge is getting to people and I’m using community groups to do that.”

This article has focussed on Bristol’s print media. In the coming months, we will be looking at the city’s broadcast media. To get involved, email ellie@bristol247.com.