A “good news only” policy introduced at a series of local newspapers has attracted interest from across the world, according to editor John Mappin.

HoldtheFrontPage last month reported how Independent London Local Newspapers’ eight titles have scrapped bad news reporting in favour of positive stories, and John – the driving force behind the idea – has since been the focus of a media storm.

He said: “As a result of this single post, this story and idea has gone many times around the world and we have done many radio and television appearances.”

John, who is also the chairman of the newspaper group, has been interviewed on various shows, including BBC Breakfast News, BBC Radio Scotland, the Vanessa Feltz show and South African radio station SAfm.

He said: “The positive news story seems to be gathering momentum at an exponential rate. In 12 years in the media business I have never seen anything quite like it.

“We believe that this is a very important story that has everything to do with the future of regional press and of the media industry as a whole.”

The group publishes seven free titles – the Westminster Independent, City of London & Docklands Independent, Kensington & Chelsea Independent, Notting Hill & Bayswater Independent, Hampstead Independent, Hammersmith & Fulham Independent and Ealing & Park Royal Independent.

It also publishes the paid-for New London Independent, the latest issue of which features a front-page story telling how details of the “good news only” policy have gone around the world, and a graph which shows how the company’s income has significantly increased since the policy was introduced.

The latest issue also includes several letters of support for the new policy, as well as an interview with film star Kevin Costner, London based contemporary calligrapher Zhao Yizhou, and global humanitarian and author Marilyn Tam, who talks about her book “How To Use What You’ve Got To Get What You Want.”

Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or
e-mail [email protected]