The decline of the newspaper industry in the UK and beyond has been well-documented. Nowadays a potential media mogul is more likely to start off as a blogger, a You Tuber or a podcaster rather than a newspaper editor.
Merseyside used to have its fair share of local papers including the Wirral Globe,, the Crosby Herald, the Southport Visitor to name just a few. Over many years these papers were fertile territory for up-and-coming journalists many of whom went on to work for the national papers.
That route is now well and truly closed.
Or at least it we thought it was until we met Joel Hansen – the editor of Britain’s longest surviving community newspaper The Scottie Press.
Founded in 1971 it became a champion for communities in the inner-city areas of Vauxhall, Everton and Kirkdale areas, and it’s still punching above its weight, thanks for the efforts of a small team of volunteers and their visionary 26 year old editor.
In this month’s Baltic Triangle podcast we find out what makes Joel tick and why he believes the Press has a bright future.
And we meet the Liverpool charity doing fantastic work – including here in the Baltic Triangle – tackling loneliness and isolation among people of all ages”. Jess Dyson-Houghton, Head of programmes at Liverpool Cares, a community network organisation that strives to connect older and younger neighbours, in our rapidly changing city.
