With 2010 coming to a close, the team here at Hebe have been discussing some of our favourite projects and conversations from the past year. Without doubt one of the best projects we have seen this year is the Guardian Leeds. We wanted to use this post primarily to highlight the amazing work being done by John Baron but also to give a big "thank you" on behalf of all the people and projects he and the Guardian have helped this year.
Before the Guardian Leeds project had officially launched I had spoken with them about possible link ups and collaborations. We had the first opportunity to do this during the 'Leeds in Barcelona' project when I wrote a series of guest blog posts during my time over in Barcelona and then again when our Barcelona guests visited Leeds. I can tell you from first-hand experience that the trend researchers and bloggers were very impressed that Guardian Leeds supported the project and it gave a lot of energy and excitement to the interviews and photo-shoots we carried out. I am sure there are a lot of projects in Leeds that have benefited from the support and exposure that the Guardian Leeds has given. I know recently during the Leeds in Vancouver project, the help and exposure on the Guardian Leeds blog really helped showcase what was happening to the people back in Leeds.
Another massive way the Guardian Leeds helped out was with the recent explosion in popularity for the UK Observing Diary project. The project has been featured all over newspapers and television in Asia and the girls are about to sign their first book deal. All this coverage started with the Guardian Leeds post focusing on the project, it sowed the seed that grew into something amazing and I am sure there will be more examples of which this can be said.
The projects and examples we have mentioned here are obviously close to Hebe hearts because they are fashion-based but the amount of different community groups, charities, independents the Guardian Leeds has helped is amazing. The project has also stimulated heated debates on things like the Leeds Arena, Trinity, Kirkgate Market and much more.
I recently sat down with John and we spoke about the impact the project has had on the Leeds community and some of his personal highlights and challenges so far. I asked him a few questions:
What were the original aims of the 'Guardian Leeds' project?
The original aims, which are still valid today, were to provide Leeds with a collaborative blog which reflects the issues people in Leeds are talking about. We've followed a number of local community campaigns, such as the campaign to transform the abandoned Royal Park School in Hyde Park into a community hub, the traders' calls to halt the decline at Leeds Kirkgate Market, the successful campaign to stop City of Leeds School in Woodhouse from closing and the community's bid to take over South Leeds Sports Centre to name a few.
My aim is to look at community activism, but also to have an eye on council accountability, so we look very closely at the decisions that are made at the Civic Hall and cover the debates between councillors in-depth.
What we've also aimed to do is raise the profile of bloggers in Leeds. There's a massive online community in Leeds which is just starting to find its voice. These are exciting times, and I've tried to provide a platform for as many voices as I can through the daily morning 'Leeds today' posts and through our 'blogosphere' section which we're currently adding more bloggers to. We also encourage guest bloggers to submit posts and cover different subjects and events - ultimately it's a blog written by the people of Leeds for the people of Leeds.
Why did you personally become involved?
Saw the job advertised and thought 'that sounds right up my street'. I'd previously had 16 years in local weekly papers and was increasingly aware that the industry was changing rapidly. I saw the Guardian Local project - which is an innovative pilot scheme - as being a bold experiment and at the forefront of what journalism could be in the future.
What have been the most challenging parts of the job
Balancing 20,000 different jobs at once. Managing your time effectively is an important part of this job and you have to learn that as much as the journalist in you wants to cover everything, you really can't!
What has been the most rewarding aspect?
Undoubtedly supporting some of the community campaigns we've been following. That's what really motivates me personally and professionally - making a difference to people's lives by giving them a voice and then shining a light onto the council's response.
What are the plans for the future?
I'm keen to get more people writing guest posts and coming on the site and posting their comments, adding their pictures to the Flickr group and generally getting the poeple of Leeds to take ownership of what is their blog!
Lets hope that this is just the beginning for this project and it continues to grow in reach and importance to the Leeds community. There is still some massive untapped potential for the Guardian Leeds and we hope to help John and the project as much as we can in 2011. In the new year we will be collaborating in a new way with the Guardian Leeds and our own Leeds Online community working together which is exciting; we will have much more information on this in early 2011.
For now though we would just like to give a huge thank you to the Guardian for creating Guardian Leeds and to the tireless work done by John Baron. Well done :)