You will read this week that newspapers play a vital role in providing trusted, reliable news. But what about digital news services such as Island Echo, who have simply been forgotten by the Government?
This week is Journalism Matters Week (5th-11th October) – a nationwide campaign set up to highlight the importance of journalism in your local area. However, the News Media Association-led campaign, supported by Government, seems to overlook truly local, digital businesses which outperform the international media giants of this country.
Island Echo was established in 2012 and for the past 8 years has continued to deliver up-to-date news from across the Isle of Wight, produced by local journalists for a local company. We’re not registered elsewhere in the country nor owned by an American corporation. We’re Islanders with local knowledge, local contacts and local interest.
Many will have written us off in the beginning but here we are, almost a decade later, as the go-to website for Island news – and we are continuing to grow in both size and prominence. Whilst others make cuts, we are expanding our team to provide more news than ever before, in new ways and with greater speed.
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a real boost for news organisations up and down the country. For Island Echo, the height of lockdown saw a record-breaking number of visitors to the website generating over 3 million page views in the month of March alone. However, despite our huge reach and dedication to keeping readers informed in a responsible way, the Government has overlooked the vital work being done by news sources like ourselves.
Officials have given huge amounts of money to newspapers to keep them afloat, despite these corporations having millions of pounds behind them. Sadly, the independents (both websites and newspapers) have been forgotten about which is something the Independent Community News Network (ICNN) has been working hard to change – but Government officials just don’t seem to be listening, well not in England anyway.
We have been identified as key workers in the pandemic, the same as other journalists up and down the country, but we are certainly not treated in the same way. There have been no VAT cuts for news websites, nor any ‘All in, All together’ advertising campaigns which have totalled £35million across the UK – that’s nearly £60,000 for each of the 600 titles involved. To put that into realistic terms, £60,000 could fund 2 full-time journalists for a whole year.
I’m glad to say that Island Echo is on an even keel so there is no desperate plea for donations from us today. We will be here throughout the pandemic and beyond, but I just ask that you remember that whilst you’re told newspapers are wonderful, news websites are too!
I do welcome the Government’s National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, which is looking to develop a plan to ensure the safety of journalists across the country. I hope one day that specifics laws will be introduced to make it a crime to physically or mentally harm journalists or make threats of violence, in order to allow us all to continue delivering news in a safe manner.
Our counterparts on the mainland now wear stab vests to carry out their duties – something I hope that we never have to do here on the Isle of Wight…
Darren Toogood
Editor/Publisher, Island Echo
As a relative newcomer to this site, I can only say thanks for providing such a good service. More power to your elbow.