The Gazette plots a new editorial direction after listening to members

In this month’s issue of The Newsroom 📨

• What we're publishing moving forwards
• Results of our website survey
• Are you on WhatsApp?

Our new editorial direction, approved by members

The team have been working on plans to expand The Gazette's reporting since we held our first AGM in March, and we're now happy to say that we've made some progress.

The AGM revealed that members value a healthy mix of feature writing, regular news reporting, and cultural coverage. To that end, we've put together a more comprehensive and wide-ranging editorial calendar that means there's something for everyone:

• The weekly newsletter will include more regular news reporting that focuses on impact — we'll continue to avoid press releases, crime updates, and celebrity gossip.
• These reports will add depth and context to topics covered by other local publishers. They will be far-reaching, making sure all communities and voices are heard.
• Investigations and features will remain the same, including one article from The Gazette team each month in addition to one commissioned story from a freelance writer. This means, on average, one long read will be published every two weeks. There may be more if we can pull it off!
• Features will cover both public interest topics and culture, including theatre reviews, festivals, art exhibitions, and more.
• As you've seen before, additional features from independent publishers may be included on the website if relevant to Leicester and its people. The original publisher and reporter will always be credited.
• Standalone news reports from the Local Democracy Reporting Service will be published on our website when they provide extra value or important information to readers.

This line-up not only gives readers a wider variety of stories, but also helps our team. We're all volunteers, so this new plan will help us focus on worthy topics and use our time wisely. The topics we cover are decided by the team, but in the future we hope to put that power in your hands with 'editorial themes'. More on that in the upcoming months.