Local democracy journalism really does matter

Journalism Matters is a campaign that highlights the vital role trusted news media journalism plays in a democratic society.

To mark Journalism Matters Week, we’ve looked back on the work of Greater Manchester’s Local Democracy Reporting Service over the last year.

Our councils are responsible for everything from collecting our bins and mending the roads to protecting society’s most vulnerable.

But how do you get people interested in reading about the decisions local authorities take – and the money they spend – on their behalf?

Based in Manchester, that’s the job of five local democracy reporters dedicated to bringing the world of local politics to life.

The team will  often look to tell their stories through people – the tenants  living in tower blocks covered in dangerous cladding, or the campaigners fighting to save their only green space, for example.

But of course, this year has been one like no other, with the coronavirus pandemic turning people’s lives upside down in a way no one could have foreseen.

The LDR remit also extends to other public bodies including quangos, hospital trusts and health commissioners.

Charlotte Green has been covering Oldham council in-depth for the last three years, and, as the borough battled to get skyrocketing infection rates down in August, no one was better placed than her to cover the story.

She interviewed Oldham’s Director of Public Health via Facebook Live – an innovative approach that attracted huge engagement – in an expertly handled Q&A.

And she took a tram ride through the town for a brilliant first-person piece telling of half-empty rush hour trams, rule-flouting passengers and the discomfort of wearing a mask for a prolonged period of time.

The team’s newest recruit, Jo Timan, also used Facebook Live to interview the leader of Bolton council about the borough’s bid to be released from local lockdown –  just weeks before infection rates surged and it became the worst hit area in the country.

It’s not all been Covid-related stories, though.

Jo made a splash with a piece about a councillor calling for the army to be brought in to deal with boy racers in Salford and discovered a Wigan councillor had moved from Tyldesley to Yorkshire.

Trafford council reporter Alice Richardson , who previously covered north east London, is also most proud of two stories not related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Her report about a £250 million indoor tropical spa near the Trafford Centre gaining planning approval hit the nationals, while a tale of a wedding ring found in ballot box at Trafford General Election went global.

She also penned a superb piece about a mental health nurse who worked on an in-patient ward during the height of the crisis.

As well as covering Andy Burnham’s weekly press conferences, Manchester LDR Niall Griffths has shown a real flair for finding new perspectives on the coronavirus pandemic.

Among his best stories is a wonderfully written piece on how grassroots football side FC United of Manchester has come through the crisis.

The story came from a council decision notice saying they had given the club an extra year to repay a loan, and grew from there.

Other strong pieces included Extinction Rebellion rebelling against Manchester council’s resistance to temporary cycle lanes by doing it themselves, and a piece on how sex workers in Manchester were having to adapt to the pandemic.

And, keeping to the theme of telling stories through people, Nick Statham spoke to 26-year-old Tanzeer Rahaman about how Ramadan would be very different this year because of coronavirus.

He also interviewed a Rochdale councillor about the racist abuse she has received on social media throughout the pandemic, while an FOI revealed hundreds of patients had been discharged to care homes from Stepping Hill Hospital before government rules changed in mid-June.

Journalism matters because it is vital, in a democracy, that people are kept informed, and that institutions are held to account.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service exists purely to serve that interest.

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.