1 March 2012
We’ve just launched a great new website that helps North Easterners share their passion and
community spirit with the wider world.
Sky
Tyne and Wear aims to be a hub of local news, sports and events with an innovative
twist.
It uses ‘mo-jos’, or mobile journalists, to provide in-depth, close-up reports of regional
goings-on. Their primary tools are lightweight, modern video cameras, along with laptops equipped
with video editing software. They spend most of their time on the streets, shooting and editing
their stories on the move before uploading them to the site via wireless connections.
Thirteen journalists have been recruited so far to cover all stories great and small. They’re as
comfortable reporting on major events held at the Metro Radio Arena as they are small local league
football matches.
They’re also sure to help local people have their say, with plenty of interviews on the site.
That’s anything from eyewitness accounts to vox pop opinions, as well as question and answer
sessions with well-known people from the area.
People in the community are also encouraged to submit pictures and video, as well as events for
the site’s listing section. So you can use it to find information about the Great North Run or
which unsigned band might be gigging at the Half Moon Lane pub in Gateshead.
However, the site always maintains the strict editorial standards expected of Sky
News.
“The launch of Sky Tyne and Wear provides a great opportunity to explore the possibility of
creating a genuinely local news, sport and listings service,” said Sky News associate editor Simon
Bucks. "There is a famous sense of local pride in Tyne and Wear and we hope that the new service is
well received by people here."
