EXCLUSIVE PICTURE: All-in-one news conference at Fort Dunlop
An alert photographer took the first shot of a live 'one-newsroom' conference at Fort Dunlop.
For anyone doubting that the Mail, Mercury and Post are working together, here's the caption:
(Left to right) Big Dyson (Birmingham Mail Editor), Stacey Barnfield (Executive Editor, Birmingham Mail), Andy Richards (Content Editor, Birmingham Mail), Gemma Tandy, standing, (newspaper sales), Sarah Probert, (Content Editor, Birmingham Post), James Cartledge, (Assistant Content Editor, Birmingham Mail), Fionnuala Bourke, (Assistant Content Editor, Sunday Mercury), Tony Larner, (Content Editor, Sunday Mercury), Marc Reeves, (Editor, Birmingham Post), Phil Vinter, (Assistant Content Editor, Video).
Brand integrities are protected by the desk heads who have specific title responsibilities, although all work across all brands.
An example is today's Mail splash (not yet printed) which highlights a plush £7k Xmas party planned by council chiefs.
The story was written by Paul Dale, formerly a Post reporter. The story was around last night, but the staff on the Post shift felt it was more suited to the Mail's readership and left it untouched for today.
Older/Newer
« No rest for the wicked... | Live debate tonight on the future of local media »
9 Comments
Leave a comment
Profile
Steve Dyson - Blog from the Editor on recent issues and events.
You're all going to *so* hate that steel beam in the way of the screens!
Quite poss, although when addressing staff today re. the pay news I found it quite useful to lean against. Not quite a shoulder, but solid, you know?
Steve, I'm genuinely interested in this so please don't think I am being funny, but how on EARTH will having three editors and one news pool work?
What happens in the event of a dispute? Maybe Marc will think a story is perfectly suited to the Post, but you fancy it for the Mail splash. At some point SOMEBODY has to decide, which means one of you must, whether you admit it or not, be senior. You've got the bigger circulation, so do you win?
I can't believe you'll never reach such an impasse, unless people aren't as passionate as they should be.
And while this is bit of a turkeys-not-voting-for-Christmas scenario, can having three editors in one newsroom ever be a viable business model?
You've got a host of content editors for the individual titles, surely the ideal structure would be one big cheese making the final call, and the content eds putting the pages together?
I know there's more to being an editor than deciding on the content of your key pages, but not enough to justify three (presumably relatively well-paid) positions. Anyhow, good luck - tough times all round.
Wow! An exclusive!
Is this Fort Dunlop based news-gathering in action?
Did the photographer use a Nokia?
Can I ask who allowed the Big Dyson name? (as it reads in the picture caption above), to get by content watch? Hilarious!
Thanks for all comments.
Ali: I don't think you're being funny at all. Re. your point about how "three editors and one news pool" works, let me give you some specifics. In the Birmingham newsroom, there are only two editors - one with overall responsibility for the Post and online development, and for the Mail and Sunday Mercury. (There is, of course, an editor of the Coventry Telegraph in that city, and a Coventry newsroom for that).
You ask: "What happens in the event of a dispute? " Well, to date, in nearly three weeks of operation, there have been none which have need to be elevated to mine or Post editor Marc Reeves' attention. In the three months Marc and I have been devising the new structure, we have not fallen out.
You say: "Maybe Marc will think a story is perfectly suited to the Post, but you fancy it for the Mail splash. At some point SOMEBODY has to decide, which means one of you must, whether you admit it or not, be senior." Good point, but in my mind I have a solution. If ever we can't agree, we will toss a coin. The winner will lose next time.
You add: "I can't believe you'll never reach such an impasse, unless people aren't as passionate as they should be." Good point, and we ARE passionate. But we also have to be sensible, and we simply cannot afford to work in silos. And remember, the Post and the Mail are VERY different papers, with distinct readerships that do NOT overlap. With the Mercury, we have to ensure it retains it's special content and, to date, that's gone well.
You make plenty of other points about three editors in one newsroom, so let me underline that there are only TWO... with separate responsibilities and brands, and both of whom are committed to work together closely.
Finally, thanks for the "good luck" message. We need it, but we also need to make our own luck, and we are set on doing that.
Best regards.
Clifford: Yes, this is Fort Dunlop working. No, not the Nokia on this occasion. We also have more traditional photographers. But the last two vox pops were carried out by single multi-media journalists.
Polnud Trof: The 'Big Dyson' caption was mine... kind of a lighter side of blogging?
You'll toss a coin? Is that what passes for taking tough decisions in Trinity Mirror newsrooms these days?
My sniping aside though, I'm really interested to know this, have the multi-media journos who did the vox pops said how people reacted to them snapping with mobiles?
I always thought the sight of a real, properly trained snapper with a camera lent a certain credibility to the process of the vox pop in that it made the subject feel they were being interviewed by a real reporter rather than numpty with last year's Nokia.
Truly Appalled, let's face it, snappers have been getting away with it for years. Point (in the general direction), click and everything is done for you by the camera.As for having all the editors surely it won't matter when the Post is put in its box six foot under and the Mercury runs out of stories on alien abductions/paedophiles/bent coppers etc etc
...and journos (particularly features) continue to 'get away' with it using the Zacharanda copy/paste method of journalism thanks to PA wire and press releases helpfully written in Word.