AddThis SmartLayers

Publisher hands out cash prizes to titles with most UGC

tobygranvillenewA regional publisher has handed out cash prizes to the newspapers in its stable which have published the highest proportions of user-generated content.

Newsquest has given out a total of £12,000 to titles for featuring user-generated content and photographic submissions from its amateur camera clubs, as well as good performance on social media.

The company’s Weymouth centre, which produces the Dorset Echo and Bridport and Lyme Regis News, has been awarded £4,000 for having both the highest percentage of unpaid community content and highest percentage of pictures generated by the camera club published in print.

During the fourth quarter of last year, titles produced from the Weymouth centre ran a total of 1,381 UGC stories, including submitted photos, which accounted for 16.8pc of all stories published in print.

Newsquest’s Falmouth centre received a £3,000 second prize for the 460 UGC submissions included in print, accounting for 15.5pc of all content, while the Worcester centre’s 1,404 UGC submissions accounted for 15.1pc of content, earning it a third prize of £2,000.

Bournemouth, with 1,556 submissions at 14pc of total content, and the Greater Manchester-based Messenger series, with 119 accounting for 13pc, came fourth and fifth respectively, although neither won cash prizes as a result.

The Bournemouth Echo was also awarded £1,500 for being the most successful local news brand Facebook page based on shares per Facebook post, click-throughs to stories from Facebook posts and overall page likes.

A final category rewarded the Stroud News and Journal with £1,500 for the fastest growing local news brand Facebook page based on year-on-year growth in likes, shares and click-throughs.

Toby Granville, pictured, editorial development director at Newsquest, told HTFP: “The UGC and social media contest was launched to spark a bit of fun and healthy competition between our titles.

“The social media contest was aimed at newsrooms to grow reader engagement through their Facebook page, while the UGC contest was focused on using more of the fantastic photographs produced by our very successful camera clubs as well as content submitted by readers, columnists and organisations.

“This currently accounts for around 5pc of all our content and is used primarily for fillers, nibs and support copy – but is still important to some of our readers.

“Those titles who are using more UGC – like the winners of the competition – are seeing a real benefit. Their reporters are now able to devote more of their time out in the community covering breaking news and the stories that make a real difference – instead of being stuck at their desks writing fillers and nibs.”

However the National Union of Journalists has criticised Newsquest’s use of camera clubs and has launched a campaign aimed at getting amateur photographers to charge publishers for use of their images.

Earlier this week it claimed Newsquest was “actively seeking to reduce its use of professional photographers and turning to camera clubs and readers for the use of their free images.”

“The NUJ believes that this is wrong. People submitting photographs for publication should be getting properly paid for their work,” it said.

However Toby responded that the use of camera clubs was about “giving readers the chance to participate, share and engage, not about cutting photo budgets.”

The top-five performing titles in each category were as follows:

All UGC Contributions

1. Weymouth – 1,381 UGC stories, 16.8pc of total
2. Falmouth – 460 stories, 15.5pc
3. Worcester – 1,404 stories, 15.1pc
4. Bournemouth – 1,556 stories, 14pc
5. Messenger series – 119 stories, 13pc

Facebook likes/clicks/shares

1. Bournemouth Daily Echo
2. Southern Daily Echo
3. Telegraph & Argus, Bradford
4. South Wales Argus
5. Swindon Advertiser

Facebook page growth year-on-year

1. Stroud News and Journal
2. The National
3. Craven Herald & Pioneer
4. Keighley News
5. Barnet Times Series

21 comments

You can follow all replies to this entry through the comments feed.
  • February 15, 2018 at 8:36 am
    Permalink

    Does Toby really believe what he’s saying? The scary thing is that he might. And what even is this prize? Is it given to staff, or invested in the paper? If Newsquest has this money knocking around, perhaps it could invest it in another journalist (£12k would pretty much pay for this at Newsquest wages). So many questions.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(41)
  • February 15, 2018 at 8:38 am
    Permalink

    One day the ‘users’ are gonna get wise and start charging. Pity there won’t be any skilled photographers or writers left in business to fill the gap. Meanwhile if indifferent sunsets, steam trains and flower pix float your boat, good luck.Thanks for killing newspapers, it was fun while it lasted.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(47)
  • February 15, 2018 at 9:25 am
    Permalink

    I wonder how long and at what cost it took to compile these figures?

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(17)
  • February 15, 2018 at 9:40 am
    Permalink

    Total and utter disgrace. Have these people no shame?

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(33)
  • February 15, 2018 at 10:30 am
    Permalink

    If as Mr Granville suggests this UGC is motivated purely by altruism on the part of his company and the desire to let keen amateur photographers see their names in CMYK, could I suggest that a 15 per cent cut in the cover price of his papers is long overdue. Well 11 per cent – after all they do provide the ink and the paper.

    And we wonder why regional evening newspaper circulations are in free-fall.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(31)
  • February 15, 2018 at 11:07 am
    Permalink

    Hmmm. Toby says this isn’t about ‘cutting photo budgets’. So why have the freelance photographic budgets (let’s not forget there are virtually no Newsquest staff photographers remaining) been cut for 2018 compared to 2017 on most Newsquest dailies?
    Answers on a postcard please.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(36)
  • February 15, 2018 at 11:39 am
    Permalink

    So much for “trusted brands” and criticism of fake news by newspaper executives. More like: “We will take submitted copy as gospel and poor quality pics are fine, as long as it’s all free and we can charge for it” – oh wait a minute, people have stopped buying papers and publishers are losing millions of pounds in print revenue and only making a fraction of that on the web.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(24)
  • February 15, 2018 at 11:46 am
    Permalink

    We will find out in the next few weeks the recent circulation figures to see how badly they are all doing.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(21)
  • February 15, 2018 at 12:23 pm
    Permalink

    Cheap and cheerless and as long as it’s free is what it’s all about at NQ these days, any old rubbish will do for the readers and do t bother about the overall look or feel of the papers as looking at recent newspaper sales and ad revenue figures not enough people are buying or advertising in them to worry about

    Saving money by offloading professional photographers, no wonder he’s smirking

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(23)
  • February 15, 2018 at 1:20 pm
    Permalink

    Perhaps instead of dishing out the pounds to news teams who are mining their local communities for content, NQ might consider paying honorariums to the amateurs who submit this stuff in the first place. Or even sponsor a community award for their club.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(10)
  • February 15, 2018 at 1:49 pm
    Permalink

    This is totally disgusting! Rewarding a drastic drop in quality. Its actually sick if I’m being honest. Newspaper management across the board has in my opinion fallen way below the expected standard and it is reflected in the poor products on offer. How stupid are these people. Cutting quality drastically and keeping cover prices high… Crazy disentangle even come close. I know as much about brain surgery as these guys know about newspapers! As I said yesterday having a smartphone or even entry level SLR doesn’t make you a photographer. I have good quality scissors but that doesn’t make me a barber. I’m coming round to cut your hair Toby!!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(22)
  • February 15, 2018 at 1:51 pm
    Permalink

    Sorry… Crazy doesn’t even come close

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(6)
  • February 15, 2018 at 2:40 pm
    Permalink

    Rewarding poor quality, applauding on line social media ‘likes’ ,which have no value other than for ego massaging,and happy for their papers to be seen as being dumbed down, is it any wonder their sales figures are at all time lows and falling further?
    The real winners here are the ones who don’t appear in their league tables as those papers are the ones where a resistance to UGC appears to be happening.

    It’s all just very embarrassing,but when you’ve no pride in your output any longer and when your staff are happy to drive the knife into their futures for a few quid why would expect the paying public to care either

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(20)
  • February 15, 2018 at 2:52 pm
    Permalink

    Thanks for all the feedback. For all those questioning the “quality” of our Camera Club photographs have a look at these galleries and judge for yourselves:
    http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/features/cameraclub/15597716.YOUR_PICTURES__Light_fantastic_as_Illuminate_Bradford_creates_spectacular_display/#gallery56
    http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15813619.the-northern-echo-camera-club-a-year-in-pictures-2017/#gallery4
    And Dead Digital Horse – thanks for the offer of a haircut but I had one last week.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(8)
  • February 15, 2018 at 3:28 pm
    Permalink

    Deluded. There are lots and lots of photographers out there who can take pictures of lovely countryside scenes, animals, buildings and sunsets. But there aren’t that many who can cope with organising and talking to a dozen or so people for a general cheque presentation photo which local newspaper press photographers have to do on a weekly basis.
    One example i can remember is that i had a submitted photo come in from a local club which was presenting a cheque to a charity and it was a dozen or so people all stood in a straight line (a classic firing squad line-up).
    And the irony of the photo – it was submitted by the local camera club! I rest my case.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(19)
  • February 15, 2018 at 3:33 pm
    Permalink

    Hello Toby – I haven’t been critical of the quality of images being produced by some members of Newsquest camera clubs. However, I have suggested a certain economy with the truth when you state the use of UGC images is ‘not about cutting photo budgets’. Perhaps you could comment on this?

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(14)
  • February 15, 2018 at 3:41 pm
    Permalink

    Several of those Bradford pix seem to be by a professional photographer called Jemma Crewe. Well done to her for spotting a free way to publicise her business!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(22)
  • February 15, 2018 at 3:42 pm
    Permalink

    Re your galleries Toby…. Very nice, lots of backs of heads and general shots on the Bradford lights. Used to be said faces sell papers but I guess that doesn’t work any more. Like the watermarks on a few as well, looks pro. Guess that’ll help pay their mortgages and I’m sure all those Facebook likes will pay for the champers at the Newsquest shareholders. Zuckerberg must be p******g himself.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(26)
  • February 15, 2018 at 5:15 pm
    Permalink

    So much money sloshing around but not for qualified talented journos. No trainees going into print anymore and who can blame them with an attitude like this one from NQ? And current staff leaving every day. Be careful what you wish for Toby.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(12)
  • February 15, 2018 at 5:39 pm
    Permalink

    Sorry Toby, you can’t pull the wool over the eyes of your diminishing readers. You have cherry-picked excellent camera club pics. We all know that for every hundred pics published, the vast majority are unprofessional “snaps” of poor quality.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(17)
  • February 15, 2018 at 9:48 pm
    Permalink

    I love this statement “However Toby responded that the use of camera clubs was about “giving readers the chance to participate, share and engage, not about cutting photo budgets.”” and then one of their papers is letting this photographer go https://goo.gl/KpLNSR

    If that doesn’t say they are cutting photo budgets I do not know what does!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(18)