One of the keys to the newspaper is the opportunity being given to 12 opinion writers to write about what matters to them with local issues. We want to see a newspaper that is a first for any village in Sussex. Hyper-local, with national production values, something that has not been done before. Side by side, the opportunity being given to people from all walks of life to say what really matters to them.—Bay Life, 28 January 2016
What is important to Bay Life the Journal is that the opinion writers can write, communicate and that they have something to say that matters to the locality.
The newspaper is planned as something akin in print to the successful Hustings event for the constituency of Bexhill and Battle held at the Priory Court Hotel in Pevensey in April 2015, prior to the General Election. A total of close to one hundred local people turned up to be part of the event.
All sides of an argument given an airing to an engaged audience. Open sparkling local democratic debate about issues. Questions presented by a local audience. Articles that contribute something to the community.
Original writing and thinking with the Bay in focus. We are aiming at a number of local firsts for the newspaper.
Talking to Bay LIfe yesterday (27 January), Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle, told the online platform “I am really pleased to be given the opportunity to contribute with a monthly article”.
Bay Life, the Journal is now in preparation. The newspaper will mark the first time that a broadsheet of this kind has been produced in any village in Sussex.
Initially the newspaper will be a small four page broadsheet production with a campaign focus on a local issue in depth, opinion pieces, letters, reviews, a new guide “Bay Life and Soul’ which will feature information about the work of some of the 80 local societies based within the close network of villages, together with profiles of some of the best projects that are ongoing and planned within the area.
The newspaper is aimed at both residents and visitors and will feature an independent view of what is happening here in the Bay and all that is best about the locality.
The theme “the hidden jewels in the crown of Sussex” will be carried over to the newspaper with features on the court and spark of some of the best businesses offering services in the villages. Two local business interviews will feature in each issue.
Publisher, Dianne Dear, (21 January) said, “I would like to thank everyone in and around Pevensey Bay that has contributed to making Bay Life such a success story over the last five years. We are the most successful online platform for any small coastal community in Sussex. The next stage in our development is to take the best of what we do into local communities. As well as being online, Bay Life is about to become a local newspaper”.
Bay Life, the Journal will be made available in 15 key locations within the locality. The premier businesses invited to be part of the profile of the newspaper are being contacted this week and next week.
Bay Life The Journal: the essential local off-line read, bay life and times for the digital age
