8 word on the street The biggest problem in the media at the moment is lack of trust. It’s been broken or lost – or in some cases, maybe it was never there in the first place! I think a lot of work has to be done to rebuild that trust, because without it, we don’t have an audience. We don’t have any money coming in, because advertising and revenue both depend on that audience. We also don’t have stories. I think showing up for your community is a way of building trust. Greater Govanhill magazine is a hyperlocal and community solutions-focused multilingual magazine, that covers a small neighbourhood in Glasgow. It’s one of the most multicultural and diverse, but also one of the most socially deprived neighbourhoods in the city. It has quite a bad reputation, because of racism and xenophobia, and it tends to get scapegoated for a lot of issues that are actually city wide. With the magazine, I wanted not to ignore these issues but to cover them in a solutions-focused way. I wanted it to be community driven, and representative of that community – rather than me, as a journalist, coming in and deciding what I wanted to write. Active listening Initially I visited loads of community organisations and groups, went to events and did an online survey. I listened in a meaningful way. The whole magazine – concept, design, format, our regular features – came from what people were telling me they wanted. Listening to your audience and not making assumptions is one way of showing up. But it requires more than that. It’s a continuous process; it’s about finding ways to keep bringing people in. We’ve been able to build what we have because people trust and believe in the magazine. There’s no paywall on the magazine, and it’s free for everyone. I invite people to editorial meetings before each issue. Once the topic is decided, I call for pitches, and then I discuss those pitches with members, volunteers and contributors. Generally, there’s a democratic process but when it comes to making the final decisions, as editor-in-chief I tend to take that lead. I consider myself a Neverland ruler, however, as opposed to an authoritarian one! I spend a lot of time doing things that don’t necessarily benefit the magazine directly. For me, that means going along to community meetings, taking part in consultations, sharing other people’s information, being part of networks, having stalls at events… These might not produce stories, but it’s a way of being there and being visible. Being accessible and transparent. Of course, I recognise that I have an advantage in this respect – these days, a lot of magazines and digital publications are online and don’t have that geographical proximity. But I think there are ways you can replicate community engagement online. And speaking of advantage… I’m conscious of my own privilege here: I’m not originally from Govanhill, I’m white, I’m middle class. But that’s where it comes back to listening carefully. It’s about centring other people, making space for them and then holding that space. Occasionally I might have to fill a gap in the magazine if some content hasn’t come through, but most articles aren’t by me. It’s also about purposeful engagement; I recognise that if I genuinely want to serve the community, if this is to be public interest journalism, then I have to be careful I am not just engaging the people who are most likely to engage. People talk about ‘hard to reach’ audiences all the time, but I don’t think it’s that they are hard to reach – you’re just not trying hard enough. It means going to organisations that already exist, that are already engaging people who might otherwise be underrepresented in the media or disadvantaged. It’s about speaking to people where they are and on their terms, not expecting them to come to me. It’s about supporting them and empowering them to write. The language issue Each issue we have about seven or eight articles in different community languages – that was a big part of the magazine from the start. There are apparently 88 different languages spoken on the ‘It’s about centring other people, making space for them and then holding that space’
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