Residents online: opportunities for councils?

THE LGiU (Local Government Information Unit) is conducting some research into how local councils are making use - or not - of citizen-run or 'hyperlocal' websites.

LGiU Blog Editor Rob Dale has studied the research into citizen online networks conducted last year by Networked Neighbourhoods. Rob is now asking Councillors and Council Officers to take part in a survey as part of ongoing research:

"Of people who use these sites, the study found only 13% were involved in ‘formal political’ activity, 59% felt able to influence decision-making processes and 42% felt their attitudes towards local councillors had improved. Importantly, nearly all councils identified such sites as being somewhat or highly ‘constructive or useful’.

Their work showed how local, citizen-run websites bring social benefits to residents and the potential for co-production and public sector savings. I am therefore very excited to be collaborating with Networked Neighbourhoods on a follow up exploration of how councils are making use of these local websites.

We expect this research to add further insights of importance to members and officers as local government adjusts to new relationships with citizens."

Want to get involved?

If you are a councillor and would like to take part in the research you can do so here: Councillor Survey.

If you are an officer and would like to take part in the research you can do so here: Officer Survey.

An event is being held later in the year at which the findings of these surveys will be discussed. Find out more at Rob Dale's article on the LGiU Blog or contact rob.dale@lgiu.org.uk

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Councils and Councillors - using Social Media effectively

FOLLOWING ON from earlier articles about local councils and councillors using social media and a hyperlocal approach, HU12 is sharing this presentation created by Adrian Capon at North Lincolnshire Council. The presentation - although rather long - explains itself:

Digital Marketing & Social Media Presentation North Lincolnshire Council Scrutiny Panel July 2011

View more presentations from AdeCapon

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Hyperlocal - a shift from centralised control of the media

THE PHONE HACKING SCANDAL has exposed the risks involved in having one major conglomerate dominating a significant part of the media industry. The centralised control of the media by rich and powerful tycoons may have directly led to the unsavoury phone hacking practices becoming an acceptable means of gathering news in a competitive industry.

Whilst people have been quite rightly outraged by the invasions of privacy engendered by phone hacking, the whole debacle has highlighted a general - and growing - public cynicism with traditional media. One of the major drivers for this questioning of the current status quo is the availability of free and easily shareable quality news on the internet.

The internet has allowed people to do their own research and quiz what official media is saying. For a growing number of people the net has become their official media. This move towards the net has hit the big media corporations and their profits hard - and as they themselves have moved towards the internet, they have found that space already occupied by a host of bloggers, citizen journalists and hyperlocal activists.

In an article on its LGiU Blog, the Local Government Information Unit has commented on the fact that new technology is making the news a social and local medium. It points out that "hyperlocal websites, now numbering in their thousands, are increasingly becoming the places where people turn to find out, publish and share news about what’s happening in their community."

Whilst no one is writing off the media giants, the LGiU article does suggest that the "emergence of local news nonetheless represents a shift in the centre of gravity away from centralised control and towards a diversity and granularity that the big media companies inevitably struggle to provide."

HU12 is proud to be one of the thousands of unique hyperlocal websites that are acting as a counter-balance to the centrally driven and profit-hungry news organisations. Our focus is to bring news and issues - of a national, regional and local importance - to the attention of local community and business activists. We hope to get better at doing that - and will strive to add some real democratic value to the society and communities that we love and live in.

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The Hedon Local News Hub - The Concept

So I rang up my local swimming baths. I said 'Is that the local swimming baths?' He said 'It depends where you're calling from.' Comedian Tim Vine

'LOCAL NEWS' is something that matters or is of interest to you in your local area. What matters to you, depends on your perspective and community that you are active in at that particular time. We are all active in communities even if we don't think of it that way - we're active in communities as neighbours, as workers, as travellers and at leisure. And as our lives interact with these communities then 'local news' takes on a different relevance. If you're stuck in a traffic jam then the relevant and useful local news is that which will inform you of how long you will be stuck - and what you might do to get out of the jam.

So the term 'local news' really does depend on where you're calling from and in which particular 'community' you are active in at that particular time. This is important to clarify because 'local news' is something that a new project proposed for Hedon hopes to discuss in some detail.

Hyperlocal news-gathering websites like the Hedon Blog, the Paull Village Hall website and Beverley's HU17.net concentrate on our 'community of place' i.e. where we live. Their 'niche' is our street, neighbourhood, village or town and they strive to bring together everything useful about that place under one virtual roof. How well they do that is open for discussion. But the fact they exist and are increasingly becoming a source of internet based information for local residents within those places means that they are a factor that can not be ignored.

The people behind the growing number (hundreds!) of hyperlocal websites across the country are varied and have different motivations. Some are redundant or student journalists, others are community activists or groups with a sense of civic duty - but all share a passionate belief that reporting the local news and providing local information can play a useful part in improving our communities of place.

Hedon Blog founder and Editor, Ray Duffill (that's me!) hopes to build on the hyperlocal model by establishing a Hedon Local News Hub which will have definitive aims to build a 'local news' infrastructure that can lead to better informed, engaged, and active local communities in Hedon.

The Hedon Local News Hub would aim to be a constituted partnership body bringing together volunteers, local communities, voluntary groups, local business, training providers that can draw in funding to provide a dedicated news-gathering and news-sharing service in the town - and a network of community citizen-journalist reporters with access to training and technical support opportunities. This network would dig out and investigate local issues - hold local authorities to account and strengthen local democracy, and be a source of positive press around which community action could ferment.

The News Hub would research what the local news-needs of the Hedon community actually are and then plan to meet these while providing a community newswire service to link those with news to share with existing media organisations that can do this.

This is the first in a series of articles exploring this concept. If you would like to get involved, have advice or information to share, or otherwise wish to express an interest in this idea, then please e-mail hu12@gmx.com and put "News Hub" in the subject line. 

In writing this article I have been inspired by the Media Trust document Meeting the news needs of local communities (published on Scribd).

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Local town councillors join Election 2011 fight

JOHN DENNIS, a Hedon Town Councillor and waste incinerator campaigner, has announced that he is to stand for election to the East Riding Council on May 5th as a Conservative candidate, along with fellow Town Councillor Mike Bryan.

John Dennis declared his intention to stand whilst responding to an article on HU12 about how councillors and local government might use 'hyperlocal' websites. The article had stated that "East Riding Councillors for the South West Holderness area currently have no relationship with their constituent hyperlocals".

In response to the article, in what might be seen as the opening shots of the local Election 2011 campaign, John Dennis said:

"Please note that after 10 years on Hedon Town Council, and 5 years as spokesperson for the successful HOTI (anti-incinerator) campaign I am now intending to stand for election to the County Council in May, as a Conservative candidate together with Mike Bryan.

I wish it to be known that I, personally, will use all methods available to me to maintain contact with the electorate, both before and (hopefully) after election. I think I can safely say that by using well established connections and exploiting all aspects of modern technology to get the message out to the press TV and radio, I was generally successful in publicising the activities of the HOTI and keeping the pressure on those in the corridors of power.

Maybe the lack of commitment in the past by incumbent members to the use of the the modern technology generally, is one of the reasons SW Holderness is regarded as an ideal place to site such monstrosities as Incinerators and Sewage Works."

The declaration by Mr Dennis of his and Mr Bryan's intent to stand on May 5th, follows the early declaration last week that 18 year Adam Lonsdale will be standing as an Independent.

The election campaign war has certainly started early this year, but this campaign will also be very different in the fact that it will be fought under the glare of the internet with massive opportunities for online discussion and interaction. Policies, promises and candidates will be scrutinised under the virtual microscopes of the electorate.

The official start of nominations for Election 2011 is Friday 25th March.

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Councillors and local government - 'hyper about hyperlocal websites'

THE HEDON BLOG is an example of a 'hyperlocal' news-gathering website. Along with others in the area such as Beverley's HU17.net, hyperlocals try to bring together news and information about an area in one online place so that it can be found easily by local residents.

However, local councils are beginning to realise the benefits that hyperlocals might bring to them. A conference was held recently on the Government's localism agenda which prompted an article on Learning Pool by Breda Doherty that asked the question: Why local government should be hyper about hyperlocal websites.

The article comments on the rise of citizen-run websites and the role they could play in local democracy and suggests five key benefits for local government:

1. Elected members can more accurately shape their political promises by listening online to what residents actually see as important. They can use these websites to get to better know the people who make up their wards/districts.
2. Councils can use them as a free research tool to find out how the public rate their services, what their concerns are and better determine where restricted budgets should be spent.
3. Councils can also increase the distribution of their traditional communications such as press releases by providing hyperlocal websites with this information to publish.
4. Show that they are not scared of public criticism by taking part in open, online coversations.
5. Look to hyperlocal websites for ideas on how to improve their own websites. Hyperlocal websites are popular as their content is interactive rather than static and discussion is encouraged rather than directed to a minefield of contact us sections or FAQ’s pages only to find out a generic response to their individual community issues.

The Hedon Blog has welcome participation from Hedon Town Councillors and occasionally runs press releases for that body. The East Riding Council and local MP Graham Stuart regularly send news releases to hyperlocals (and in the MP's case actually includes links to three of them on his website). However, the East Riding Councillors for the South West Holderness area currently have no relationship with their constituent hyperlocals.

Both the Hedon Blog and HU12 have a desire to work more closely with the formal democratic process - whilst maintaining a healthy independence from that process - and is keen to hear from local councillors about their ideas on how hyperlocals just might be able to help them.

Respond to comments below or at e-mail hu12@gmx.com

Note: Image from wordle

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Hyperlocal coverage of key Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election

THOSE INTERESTED IN the Oldham East and Saddleworth By-election that is taking place today might want to visit hyperlocal website Saddleworth News.

Saddleworth News is the equivalent of the Hedon Blog for Saddleworth and is published by stay-at-home Dad and journalist Richard Jones.

Whatever the developments in the election campaign - you can guarantee that Richard and Saddleworth News has got it covered! And yes... this is an unashamed plug for another hyperlocal website doing wonderful stuff for its community :-)

See: Saddleworth News - Election Archive.

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