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New editor gets on bike in bid to get to know patch

The new editor of a regional daily got on his bike in a bid to get to know his patch better.

David Bartlett, who took over as editor of the Cambridge News last month, saddled up and cycled around Cambridge with acting political reporter Josh Thomas.

The pair were taken on a cycle tour of the key sites of a number of new transport projects being undertaken in the city by the Greater Cambridge City Deal.

David and Josh liveblogged their tour and it was the most popular article on the Cambridge News website on Tuesday afternoon.

From left, Josh Thomas, Lewis Herbert, chairman of City Deal executive board and David Bartlett

From left, Josh Thomas, Lewis Herbert, chairman of City Deal executive board and David Bartlett

David took over at the News on 1 August following the departure of Paul Brackley. He previously served as executive editor of the Liverpool Echo.

Said David: “As we focus on growing our online audience this was a great way to see the city and show our audience that we are starting to do things a bit differently here.

“When I first came to Cambridge I was astonished to see how popular cycling is – a recent survey found that 43pc of people cycle to work on a regular basis.

“Cambridge has cycling facilities that are the envy of most other cities in the UK, and is improving them even further.

“There elements of the City Deal that are controversial, so this was a great opportunity to see first hand some of the key sites and issues. I don’t normally cycle 16 miles most days, so my knees ached a bit at the end.”

4 comments

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  • September 8, 2016 at 5:03 pm
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    I’m no Columbo, but there could be some online audience growth focus going on here.

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  • September 9, 2016 at 6:55 am
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    As an editor and thus an endangered species hematite be on his bike again much sooner than he expects

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  • September 9, 2016 at 6:05 pm
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    Given the shelf life of editors these days, you’ll probably soon be able to re-use that headline with a cut at the end of ‘bike’.

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  • September 9, 2016 at 9:30 pm
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    Perhaps he was looking for his lost online audience in Pokemon style, aiming his phone and….”there’s one, stay still….damn that pop up advert, nearly had it!”

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