Why I’m inviting you to Help Me Investigate this

“In journalism it is simpler to sound off than it is to find out. It is more elegant to pontificate than it is to SWEAT.” Harold Evans …”

So reads the writing on the wall at the Spinningfields HQ of the Manchester Evening News. It may not be the most-quoted of the pieces of text on display (CP Scott’s “Comment is free but facts are sacred” probably takes that honour), or as hip Ian Brown’s “Manchester’s got everything except a beach”, but it was always my favourite thought for the day on the way up to the editorial floor.

I think it sums up the toil and sometimes, frankly tedious, tasks that go into a lot of journalism. The unglamorous non-celeb, no free nosh, unearthing and fact-checking that goes into the day-to-day of news gathering and which is often overlooked, under-estimated or under appreciated in a world where PR is king and re-hashes commonplace.

It is exactly the sort of journalism that has always gone on in town halls across the country but which the critics of newspapers have been quick to claim is waning and politicians point to as justification for using taxpayers’ money to publish their own “newspapers”.

But away from all the heat and pontification, there’s very few facts and figures to hang onto. How much local authority coverage is carried out by your local newspaper? Has it declined? Is it on the increase? Do readers prefer celebrity news? Does it matter? Who cares?

No-one has the answers.

Which is why a couple of weeks ago I suggested a survey which would establish some bench-marks. It’s not the easiest thing to calculate, but, given the collaborative power of the interwebz, it is surely possible.

Thanks to Paul Bradshaw at HelpmeInvestigate, it will now be possible to co-ordinate this effort using the platform’s tools.

So far a dozen people have signed up to help and Paul is leading us through the various challenges which will enable us to submit details about newspapers in different regions.

Armed with some facts, who knows where this might lead? Btw, you don’t have to be a journalist to take part, simply someone who reads local papers and cares about this issue.

Want to come and sweat a little?  Invitation here.