Calls for Knighton residents' views on traffic enforcement
Plus: Covid-19 Public Inquiry finds that UK was 'failed' by government’s Covid response that saw Leicester locked down the longest.
Plus: our ambitious plans, new members and what people have said about The Gazette.
Happy New Year! As we say goodbye to 2023 in this special edition of The Newsroom, we thought it would be a great idea to explore our journey so far – the ups and downs, our headline statistics, and what to expect from us over the next year.
Firstly, thank you to everyone who has helped us since we launched in March. It has been an exciting year. For those who became paid members, you have allowed us to commission new and talented writers – and we are now on track to hire our first part-time staff member.
Thank you to anyone who sent us tips and leads for stories. We hope to retain your trust moving forward and build on it so anyone can come forward with new information.
Here is our journey so far. In 2023, we:
What could have worked better was that we tried to run human rights and media literacy workshops over the summer. Due to a low uptake, we ended the programme early. We will experiment with events over the next 12-18 months to see what works. We also tried to run an annual reader 'check-in', intended to be the first comprehensive survey of our readership. However, poor timing and promotion also meant minimal engagement. We will attempt it again in 2024 – but we will work on getting people involved.
Our top investigations and stories were...
In 2024, we have some ambitious plans. We hope to become an employer, but more importantly, we will extensively cover the general election and launch our print edition. These are massive projects – and we need all the help we can get. If you want to volunteer a couple of hours a week in any capacity, please get in touch. We would love to hear from you.
Here's what a couple of our members had to say about The Gazette in 2023:
"I'm full of admiration for the team behind The Gazette. They have rapidly become an important voice for Leicester, helping fill the gap in local media” – Geoff Rowe, founder, Leicester Comedy Festival
"The Gazette's co-operative, not-for-profit model is breaking new ground and working to fill the gap left by the decline of traditional media” – Nick Carter, ex-Leicester Mercury editor
And, finally, a warm welcome to Shyam Popat, Tim Neff and Wendy Murphy, who joined us in December.
Happy New Year and best wishes for 2024.
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