The Mansfield Chad enjoyed a web hits surge at the weekend after its news team swung into action in the early hours of Saturday to cover a major fire online.

The Nottinghamshire weekly, which normally publishes on Wednesdays, used its website www.chad.co.uk to bring up-to-the-minute coverage of a huge blaze on its patch as 400,000 tyres went up in smoke.

Editor Tracy Powell received a tip-off at 10.30pm on Friday evening and within half an hour an initial story had been uploaded to the site.

The story was then updated throughout the weekend resulting in 15,000 page views on Saturday and Sunday.

Following the tip-off, Tracey contacted deputy editor Tim Morriss and he roused chief photographer Roger Grayson from his bed, before they raced to the scene to join photographer Anne Shelley who was already at the blaze.

Tim phoned copy though to reporter Stephen Thirkill who uploaded the initial story to the site just after 11pm and then gathered more information and initial residents’ reaction .

Meanwhile, Roger took photographs of the dramatic scene of flames and billowing smoke which could be seen from 10 miles – before they returned to the Chad’s office in Mansfield at 1am to update the web story with more information and photographs.

Over the next couple of hours Tim added more information on the fast-changing situation as police closed off roads and evacuated residents for a time.

During the weekend reporter Nick Brimacombe, Roger and Tim added more stories and a video as Warsop was cut off to traffic while firefighters tackled the blaze.

Readers also submitted their own material, with more than 40 photos and two videos sent in.

Comments

Lynn (03/06/2009 10:02:57)
Great! Restores some faith into the idea of real journalism and news coverage.

Joy (03/06/2009 10:15:24)
Great work Tracey. Well done to you and your team.

Shiralee (03/06/2009 11:39:42)
Well done, real journalism, a team that works together.

Unhappysnapper (03/06/2009 12:20:49)
Isn’t that what journailsts do anyway?

All Subbed Out (03/06/2009 15:01:35)
What is creditoworthy, Unhappysnapper, is that there are still local journalists who don’t let the limitations of their resources and working week stand in the way of responding to the news agenda. Many local hacks would be too dispirited or hard done-by to want to turn out in the small hours to update a website, when there is often limited incentive or urgency in terms of print deadlines, particularly where regional daily/evening papers now have so few editions going to press far earlier.