AddThis SmartLayers

Ex-regional journalists help set up new ‘alternative tabloid’

A new regional “alternative tabloid” has been launched after a year-long project to train dozens of “citizen journalist” contributors.

The first issue of The Eclipse, which covers the North-East of England, has been published after a project which saw trained journalists providing content alongside people from outside the industry.

The free newspaper has been delivered to 10,000 people across Newcastle, Gateshead and South Shields, and aims to give a voice to vulnerable people in the region.

Among those involved are former Oxford Mail assistant news editor Esther Beadle, now a freelance, along with founders Jessie Joe Jacobs and Andrew Wilson.

Eclipse front

Jessie and Andrew have been developing The Eclipse for over a year as part of a project called We Are Our Media, which provided training to around 40 people in “citizen journalism”.

The first edition was published on Friday and featured around 35 different contributors, including photographers, researchers, writers, graphic designers, illustrators and editors.

Those writing for the paper include carers, grandparents, mums, school teachers, charity workers, artists, campaigners and mental health workers are also the ones who investigate, write and produce the content alongside trained journalists and ex-newspaper staff.

Jessie is the former boss of A Way Out, a charity based in Stockton-on-Tees which helps vulnerable women and young people.

Describing her motivation for launching The Eclipse, she said: “Running a charity that worked with some of the most vulnerable people in society, I was often left outraged by the way the tabloids portrayed the type of people we were working with.

“Yet when I looked into to it, many of these papers were run by billionaires, who had no connection with ordinary people so it was unsurprising they had a seemingly one-sided view of society.

“We decided to create an alternative newspaper, to give a platform to the many stories and issues that weren’t being adequately covered, from an ordinary person’s perspective.”

The Eclipse also features an ‘alternative page three’, which shows a full page photograph of a mother breastfeeding her baby.

The paper will be published quarterly, and it is now seeking donors to help raise £10,000 so that a second issue can be produced.

5 comments

You can follow all replies to this entry through the comments feed.
  • November 3, 2017 at 8:21 am
    Permalink

    “The Eclipse also features an ‘alternative page three’, which shows a full page photograph of a mother breastfeeding her baby.”

    Is Chris Morris involved in this by any chance?

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(10)
  • November 3, 2017 at 10:14 am
    Permalink

    Thanks for trying to belittle and dumb down the job of a journalist – let’s face, most ex-sportsmen and women, academics etc believe they can do it. Now it’s the turn of carers, schoolteachers et al to demonstrate that you too can be a journalist with 5 minutes of so-called ‘training’ rather than the lengthy studies and qualifications that ‘real’ journos have to go through. Maybe I should walk into my nearest classroom and start teaching…..

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(24)
  • November 3, 2017 at 2:09 pm
    Permalink

    I agree with the sentiments of the previous posters but let’s face it they’re doing nothing different to that of the big regional press publishers eg: relying on the public to provide the copy (sorry ‘ content’ is such a pretentious word beloved only by those desk pilots with it in their job title)

    The biggest concern must be The crowdfunding aspect of seeking £10k for the second ndbissye, I wish them well but let’s be honest it’s not going to happen is it and if it does it will likely reel from issue to issue losing money

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(9)