Fishburn Hedges

02.09.2010

Over the course of the summer, Amy Simpson and Madeleine Scarlett-Smith worked with us as interns. As well as working on a variety of accounts, they also took on a digital project. Here Amy blogs about uncovering influential regional news channels.

The day has come and our two month internship at Fishburn Hedges has reached an end. During that time we worked on different clients like Barclays, Pret A Manger and Nestlé, but one project united ‘Team Intern’ - the compilation of an online regional news index. 

Recognising that regional news is often more influential than the mass media wrath of Rupert Murdoch, what better than to compile all online regional news channels in Britain to create a useful resource for colleagues? Newspapers, blogs, forums, Twitter and Facebook pages were scoured to find the most influential news channels throughout the country. 

Two months were spent working on an intimidatingly-sized spreadsheet, cursing Excel and sending weekly emails on which we deemed the most entertaining regional news story of the week. Then, finally, the index was complete. 

Although traditional newspapers feel the need to have their own Facebook and Twitter accounts, only a few were successful at using them effectively. For a sizable portion, their tweets and updates had a whiff of automation about them - the concept of actually engaging with online readers was alien - and many went unnoticed. 

Interestingly, the quality of print media in each region appeared to correlate negatively with the quality of social media and digital activity in the same region. Those areas poorly-served by traditional media channels, such as Birmingham, excelled in the digital arena. There were also examples of digital apathy among traditional regional publications; The Edinburgh Evening News, a well-known mainstay of the Edinburgh Press, had one pitiful ‘like’ on Facebook. 

A* for effort

Upon discovering the wonders of Google Blog search and Techonrati, we set out on the hunt for influential local bloggers. While their influence is hard to measure, we came across many dedicated bloggers whom we awarded an A* for effort. Their dedication, determination and apparent love for the blogosphere and their local areas is evident, yet they severely struggled to find an interested audience. We saw potential for local news providers to establish relationships with enthusiastic online local bloggers.  

The fall of the forum

Another observation gleaned from our travels through the world of online regional news was the slow strangulation of most of the nation’s forums by spam (often French). Forums, if still in existence, tended to be underused and ever so ‘90s. The ascent of Twitter and Facebook – which are prettier, easier to use, and update you in real time – have made forums look decidedly dowdy and redundant. They’ll no doubt fade from view soon enough... the slightly loopy, aged ‘Southern Belles’ of the digital world. 

Our pick of the best regional titles....

By far the most important (and entertaining) finding for Team Regional was the fact that anything, yes anything, has a fighting chance of making the regional headlines. Two of our favourite real-life examples included: ‘Bike removed from garden’ (Orkney), and ‘Rooftop car park gets a make-over’ (Cumbernauld).