Newsrooms reopen on university campuses

A United Kingdom publisher has reached a deal with three universities that will see its newspapers re-open newsrooms in the areas they serve.

In a move that might be a model for similar partnerships in Britain and internationally, journalists on the Leicester Mercury, Lincolnshire Echo and the Teesside Gazette will work from offices provided on campus by the University of Leicester, the University of Lincoln and Teesside University respectively.

The universities all run degree courses for trainee journalists, and in return for the accommodation senior editors from the publisher, Reach plc. will provide a program of lectures, job-shadowing and mentoring opportunities for the students.

This reverses a trend where Reach has been closing many of its offices in a cost-saving move, planning to run its nationwide operations from just 15 major centres and leaving most of its regional titles without bases in the areas they serve.

Both partners are enthusiastic about the deal. Leicester, Coventry and Northamptonshire Editor for Reach, Adam Moss, said there were huge mutual benefits.

“We’re really looking forward to getting to know all the students on the journalism course, doing some guest lectures and giving them some real-life vocational experience of real-life journalism to go alongside their academic course,” Mr Moss said.

Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching in Teesside University’s School of Arts and Creative Industries, Clare Fletcher, said the move was an extension of a long-standing, collaborative relationship with Reach.

“It is fantastic to welcome reporters from Teesside Live to campus and we look forward to seeing how this developing partnership will progress moving forward,” Professor Fletcher (pictured) said.

As someone who entered journalism towards the end of the golden age of newspapers, I have also been witness to their decline, to the point where all the titles I have worked for over more than 40 years have either disappeared or are in much-reduced circumstances.

Mistakes were made at the dawn of the internet era and those of us who love the crafting of words have had to live with them. However, creative thinking such as that outlined above may help keep the production of responsible journalism alive, possibly even reversing its decline.