Last Saturday morning saw the Meet the Team event at the Brewery Yard Club, where the public was invited to see and meet the team behind Rye News. The whole purpose of the event was firstly to let our readers know how Rye News is run and who the personalities are behind the photographs, behind the articles and behind the scenes. Secondly, we wanted to use this opportunity to recruit new volunteers, without whom Rye News wouldn’t exist.
The event was a huge success, it’s always difficult to gauge how many invitees would attend but we were very pleased with the numbers who came to support us which included a good cross section of contributors, regular commenters and well wishers keen to know more and to see how they could offer their help.
Kenneth Bird, founding director of Rye News, welcomed all and opened the proceedings explaining how Rye News had evolved, what its purpose is and explain how it all works and who the team is that makes it happen. Editor, Chris Lawson followed and addressed some important issues, then Gill Roder guided us all through the function of a sub-editor summing up with a request for more ‘trainee subs’ to come and join Rye News.
Throughout the informal proceedings there were points raised and comments from the audience with Christopher Strangeways fielding the queries regarding comments submitted to the articles written. Christopher is responsible for moderating the comments which come in and depending on their content he will either publish them or not.
Rye News is at a crossroads and it is important that new blood is added to the existing team of hard working and dedicated volunteers if the paper is to progress to the next level, but it was obvious from all the positive feedback in the meeting that Rye News still fulfils an important role within the community and means a lot to a growing number of regular readers. We did enlist some new recruits who will be welcomed into the team, Rye News has some exciting plans for the future which will be shared in due course but until then, thank you one and all for your continued support, thank you Kt Bruce for the wonderful photos in this article and thank you to Jane Brook for sponsoring and hosting the meeting.
Keep those comments coming, keep your mobiles handy and if you see something to photograph which you think might make an interesting story please send it in to info@ryenews.org.uk but why not add a few words to it and make an article yourself? If you’d rather, send in the photo (landscape wherever possible please) and we will write the article for you.
Finally, if social media is your thing please pass on some of your skills to us and help us with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram it’s the future of advertising and we don’t want to get left behind.
Image Credits: Kt Bruce .
Sadly I missed the meeting because of the need to isolate to safe guard my wife, it looks as though it was a great success but I must say I’m surprised at the lack of masks in such a small space.
Hopefully you’ll have another gathering in the future which I may be able to attend.
Well done Rye News for an interesting morning! It was great to put faces to names and to see and hear what goes on behind the scenes to produce the publication which I always look forward to reading if not immediately! It’s also valuable for someone like me working full time to catch up on what’s been going and to pick up on events which are being held in the future! I do enjoy reading the comments and adding to them but hope in the future that some might be persuaded to be a little more constructive in their criticism!
I am also pleased to hear that you have been able to recruit some extra help which is so desperately needed and thank you for all you do to bring The Rye News to us every week!