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News was top of the agenda on the final day of the Society of Editors’ annual conference.

Eight speakers took to the rostrum to discuss their experiences of what news is – or should be – all about.

Session chairman, Chris Robertson, editorial manager of Carlton Broadcasting, introduced the speakers and opened the debate by saying: “No matter what we say the news is, the news is what the punters say it is.

“People are increasingly going to local and national television for their first impression of news and then for more in depth coverage they turn to the newspapers.”

As far as Peter Long, editor in chief of Celtic Newspapers in Cardiff, wass concerned, it was the weekly newspapers that people were turning to more and more.

Speaking on the subject ‘News is weekly’, Mr Long told the conference that a well-written local weekly acted as a community bible.

He said: “Our definition of news is simple, news is people.

“We fill our papers with stories about people who live next door to our readers, drink with our readers or play football with our readers – we get as close as we can to all our readers.”

His views were mirrored by the second speaker, Rachael Campey, editor of the Evening Herald in Plymouth.

Over the last four or five years she and her team helped to turn around the fortunes of the Herald in the face of a growing trend of falling newspaper circulation.

She said: “The evening world is tough, but over the last four years we have developed the content and it has paid off.

“The major criticism of the Herald was that it was bland. We had an office full of people who didn’t know their readers.

“The bond we now have with our readers means that the community is in touch with the paper.”

Brian MacArthur, associate editor of The Times, discussed the affects of falling circulation on the national press.

He told the conference: “The front page used to be about the story that was of the most importance, now it’s often about what will sell the most papers.

“There was a time when you could pick up any national paper and find they all had the same front page but that’s changing because more and more editors are finding themselves faced with a new agenda.”

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