A snowy Saddleworth scene taken earlier in December. (picture: David Gartside)
Reader David Gartside of Greenfield has sent Saddleworth News a lovely picture taken in the pre-Christmas snow. It shows a very wintry-looking Pots and Pans. Many thanks to David!
You can send in a picture for publication by emailing editor@saddleworthnews.com
Lovely view, but at least a week late being published. Whatever happened to the “NEWS” element of Saddleworth News?? This site used to be a fantastic resource for the area, very useful as a news feed for my website (especially things like instant traffic news) and now it’s almost useless. There have been so many roads closed and diverted over recent months – wouldn’t it have been newsworthy that Mossley Rd was now open again for instance?? Come on, pull your socks up guys
This site is officially rubbish
It’s a shame that Saddleworth News isn’t what it was, but that’s because of the time Richard was able to devote to it. Unless there are anymore stay-at-home mums or dads willing to step forward and do something similar, we won’t get anywhere near as much content.
It’s not commercially viable to put that much time into a hyperlocal site and when you factor in expenses, you’d probably have to work hard just to break even.
Richard built the site from nothing and when he wanted to get back to work, he picked the option he felt was best. Whilst I’d love for him to spend his days writing stories for me, I respect his choice to take a full time job. There’s nothing wrong with asking for more articles, but I don’t think it’s fair to complain, given that it doesn’t cost anything to come here.
Simon, it doesn’t have to break even as the ‘digital journalist’ students are running it.
If they got out of bed before lunchtime and actually got up to Saddleworth perhaps they might find some news.
With a team of students they should have it covered every day. Without the massive university-sized holiday gaps in coverage.
It is a failed site.
Derek,
I do wonder if your comments (particularly on other stories) are some kind of joke; but on the off-chance that you are serious, I will respond.
The crux of the point is that the people who own and run this site do not have the same interest in reporting the events of Saddleworth, as Richard had previously.
That isn’t a criticism; more an acceptance that whilst this site is potentially useful for students, running it is not their full-time occupation. Similarly UCO isn’t really in the business of reporting local news.
Furthermore, whether this site is owned by an individual or a large organisation, resources and enthusiasm only allow for finite coverage. As others have said previously, Richard’s efforts were exceptional. I doubt there is anyone locally who will match what he achieved.
Why don’t you produce your own local news site? You could either purchase a domain name and web-hosting (which you should be able to do for less than £50 per year if you shop around), or you could use one of the many free ‘blog’ sites (e.g. http://wordpress.com ).
If you can produce regular, relevant updates, I’m sure many of those who previously read Saddleworth News would be interested.