A digital magazine promoting the achievements of women across the North-East of England has been launched by a former regional journalist.
Lucy Richardson’s creation Express North went live yesterday for the first time, and will feature career profiles, real-life stories and opinion pieces as well as fashion and beauty.
New content will be added to the website five days a week in written and video format.
Lucy, pictured above left, began her career at the Hexham Courant and has spent the past eight years at the Northern Echo before leaving to launch the magazine.
She said: “The internet is buzzing with local female Facebook networking groups and the Federation of Small Businesses held its first North-East networking lunch for women recently.
“I want to create something that’s interactive, regularly updated and can be read as easily on a phone as a laptop.
“I also want to present stories in different ways – a fashion store’s top autumn/winter picks would work well as a YouTube video as would a tour of Festival of Thrift in Darlington later this month.”
Express North has been launched with support from a unique fellowship scheme at Teesside University, while revenue will be generated from local advertisers wanting to target the niche market.
Lucy added: “The working tagline for the Express North website was ‘no beach bodies, no kiss and tells but lots of revealing women’.
“I’m fed up of standing in line in a supermarket or chemist faced with magazine headlines that shame celebrities if they are not a size zero and praise them for pinging back into a bikini days after having a baby.
“I want Express North to be the antithesis to those publications.”
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Sounds like a plan albeit one with a very thin market and defined target audience eg; females in the north east,as I can’t see anyone from out of the region clicking on UK it , or even being aware of its existence.
Awareness of the site will be key in attracting both an audience and advertisers so hopefully the commercial aspect has been fully covered with enough local businesses in place to fund sustainable revenues to finance the site and to a sufficient user level to attract businesses to advertise.
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“I’m fed up of standing in line in a supermarket or chemist faced with magazine headlines that shame celebrities if they are not a size zero and praise them for pinging back into a bikini days after having a baby.”
Why do these magazines exist? Because women buy them. In the words of P. T. Barnum, nobody ever lost money underestimating public taste.
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Presumably there is a market for this online mag?
it seems a very small area and sector to aim for to attract sustainable viewers/readers and revenue to fund the site.
Potential advertisers will want a guarantee of an audience before comitting ad budget to such a new venture and then only if they wish to reach a (presumably) female readership based in the north east as no matter how good the intentions to produce such a site may be,without proper and ongoing funding it will struggle to survive.
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Ten different ways to paint your toenails…just what advertisers want!
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Women and girls in the NE need this badly. Far from being a small market, or happy to consume the photo mag dross, our voices, viewpoints, stories and interests are muted too often. Some of us, a lot of us, actually want items that relate to and reflect the good stuff happening up here, and there is plenty of stimulating and compelling material. Thank you Lucy!
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I’m with Lucy on this. There is a market for the kind of magazine she’s aiming for. Whether there is enough of it in the North East alone, I don’t know.
But as someone who flogs to women’s mags I find it deeply frustrating that, when I have a good story that isn’t about love rats, sex abuse, embarrassing medical conditions or some sort of made up angst, I can’t place it.
I’m not bothered about celebs and these mags carry very little else. There are plenty of other women out there like me.
However the most recent circulation figures for these mags did make interesting reading. I noticed some of the biggest drops were for the celeb obsessed publications.
Good luck Lucy. I hope it takes off.
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How long before it becomes a drum beater for politicians and activists demanding policies on so-called equality and quotas, or a mouthpiece for Guardian readers?
Sorry to be cynical, but it’ll attract a certain audience who like to be offended.
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Toenails? Did you not read the article, you idiot?
I’m so glad that someone has created a platform for women that doesn’t involve what they “think” they want to read about, something that doesn’t patronise, undermine and oppress them.
Well done Lucy. Your website looks great, and it’s about empowering women. Finally, someone has come up with a women’s magazine I’d be happy to let my daughter read.
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And there are quite a lot of women in the North-East, despite what the top comment might suggest…
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‘Very thin market..’ what are you talking about you clown? There are 2.6m people in the North-East and I’m guessing at least half are women. ‘A drum beater for politicians and activists demanding policies on so-called equality and quota….’ Next time you think about commenting Observer take the dog out for a walk or stick on Jeremy Kyle or something. The commentators on HTFP truly are a bunch of bitter doomsayers. Is B&Q not hiring?
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Good luck Lucy with this.
Man there are some cynical people out there.
Nothing wrong with sharing good stories about real people.
Let the X factor generation moan and skit. I for one will be supporting this mag.
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Yorkshire boys a boy rattled isn’t he
I don’t think anyone’s questioning the idea behind it, just the fact that without strong ad revenue support the best ideas can go belly up and a ‘thin market’ relates to the potential to buy or who would be interested in something in this case an online magazine aimed at women living in a specific area with happy smileys content and not the stuff that whether you like it or not, women seem to want to read as they buy it in their thousands
any road up enjoy your whippet walk lad and yes B&Q would probably be interested so give em a look
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Oh deary me
I’ll bet Ms Richardson is ‘pleased’ to have the kind of “support” that Yorkshire boy is giving as he seems to be very defensive and aggressive rubishing people’s views on here.
Hopefully he’s not in any way associated with her?.
One of the strengths of HTFP is that it allows all points of view to be raised and discussed usually in a very reasonable and considered way irrespective of the posters own opinions or stance.
As I read it they’re not criticisms Mr YB they’re observstions,views and people here are merely raising issues , I see no criticism in the first few posts ,you need to understand the difference and get your points across in a similar way without shouting and screaming.
However if Yorkshire boys views and rants are typical of the reader, supporter and potential user of her site then I really do fear for it.
Good luck Lucy
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Good luck Lucy. If you know your market why shouldn’t it work? At least you are having a go.
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I do enjoy the fact that daring to have an alternative view leads to insults rather than dialogue.
Worried much?
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@observer
Totally agree
Hopefully the ones who rant against those making valid and reasonable points on here are not typical of Express Norths target audience or the websites users or in any way associated with it?
If so I’ll give it a short life expectancy
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Don’t fret, Wollstonecraft, I’ve been slated all day by females in the office for my allegedly sexist comment about toenails.
Carrie, our graduate intern, has even refused to make my mid afternoon cup of tea for me because of my choice of words.
I’m sure the magazine will fill a useful niche in the market.
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