About
General Enquiries
Editor and founder, James Harrod, tells us all about Longpier.com
“Hey there. Thanks for visiting. The following few words give an idea of what this website is about and what we’re trying to achieve. If we haven’t answered a question here, then feel free to send us an email to info@longpier.com
Longpier.com is a news, sport and features website for Southend and surrounding areas. It aims to bring residents and visitors up to date information, coverage of breaking news, and informative, entertaining features from a range of dynamic contributors.
It’s a community based website with a professional edge. It’s non-subscription and is politically impartial.
The website was initially launched in 2006, as a house buying blog. Once I had found a place to live, the focus of the site changed. Being a big Shrimpers fan, I decided to turn my attention to following Southend United. A new following emerged and using the power of forums, I began to amass a decent audience for my match reports and news from Roots Hall.
But there was something missing. Hits were up, but awareness was limited. It was at the start of 2009 I decided to launch an ambitious project – to make the site the biggest local news source in Southend and surrounding areas.
By day I’m a television journalist with the BBC, so cannot do all this by myself. In the past few months, Longpier has welcomed members of the public who wanted to get involved. Some wanted to be journalists, some wanted to help with advertising or the look of the site. They helped me, I helped them.
With this in mind, I hope to recruit as many “citizen journalists” as I can, in the coming months. I’m hoping people see Longpier.com as a chance to change the way their community receives their media in a truly collaborative environment.
News is now. Demand for content is higher than its ever been. Yet coverage of this fantastically diverse area is somewhat patchy. Longpier.com aims to fill the gap between a big story happening ten minutes ago, and the local paper hitting the streets 24 hours later. It’s not good enough to rely on the old way of doing things. New media sites have changed the game, and Longpier.com is at the heart of these developments.
I always find historical features score well with the audience. We have such a rich heritage here, and sometimes I think we forget what a pivotal role Southend has played in years gone by. I’m hoping to recruit community ambassadors in the coming months to help me with this research.
Finally I’d encourage anyone who’s taken an interest in the site, and wants to get involved, to email me. With your help, we can make the website number one for your community in Southend and surrounding areas. Thanks for reading.”
James Harrod - info@longpier.com
May 2010
