Guess what? There’s a proper name for what we’re doing here at The Bedford Clanger. You girls at the Bedford Network are part of it too (http://bedfordnetwork.wordpress.com) And@bedfordcritic. We’re Citizen Journalists. Sounds pretty good, huh?
I only found out a couple of weeks ago when I was contacted by Adam Perry of The Media Trust (www.mediatrust.org). They’re working on a project to encourage Citizen Journalism, so wanted to interview people who are already doing it (even if, like me, they don’t realise it!).
The Media Trust is in the business of working with charities and media organisations to enable communities to find their voice and get their stories heard. Through a blog post I wrote for the Newspaper Club (http://blog.newspaperclub.com/?s=the+bedford+clanger) they found me. They wanted to film an interview with me to explore how other people could set up their own local newspaper.
Weirdly, now that Adam has given what we’re doing a name, it feels like it’s more important, more valid, that we’re part of a movement.
Maybe subliminally we realised that there was a paradigm shift within the media and, along with people in towns and cities around the country, we decided to take it into our own hands.
By giving it a label, we’re now connected with other newspapers, blogs, magazines and fanzines around the country. We can now swap ideas, share inspiration and promote each other to our own networks.
I now feel part of a family of like-minded people who love their towns. And I can’t wait to share the joy of Bedford with them all!
