Hello! I’m Beth. We're just finishing the first week of our campaign, and the days are far from ordinary — they're crazy, in fact. It's got me in a reflective mood, about how a normal day at The Bell is for its newest — and coolest — reporter: me.
So come close, I’ll let you in on a secret… Robbie and Calum are older than me. Shock horror. They’ve been journalists for longer, and they say their experience gives our newsroom the cool, calm heads it needs. I’m less sure. I like to think I bring the chaos and energy needed to find great stories, so let me tell you how my days tend to go.
Most days, I’m first into the office. Not because the others are late, but because my dad always said being on time is actually being late. Armed with an iced coffee that’s roughly 70% Aldi caramel syrup, I start with emails — scrolling through press release after press release before stopping at subjects like “story idea: sectarian pigeon wars”. Yes please. During this time, I usually bombard Calum with 30 ideas, all while he’s just getting in and before he’s had his first coffee of the day… poor guy.
Often, I’ll be squinting my eyes, trying to understand a financial record from 2007 — the next I’m in a leaking former office in Finnieston now home to artists, or a brownfield site in Possil taken over by teenagers who find my presence hilarious.
Sometimes, my stories start with an email telling me to “look into some local beef”. That’s how I ended up marching down Kirkintilloch’s high street, asking questions about its business improvement district to people who weren’t keen to answer them. Other days, I’m working on a new twist to an old story when I find myself eating a questionable risotto in a restaurant whose owner is accused of not paying his staff on time (Tony Macaroni, I’m looking at you).
That’s the thing about this job: I do try to plan my day, but the story often has other ideas.
A lot of my job is less glamorous than people imagine. It’s hours spent checking documents, tracing company records, sending emails that never get answered and asking questions people would rather avoid. It’s also being a social media manager, marketer, graphic designer, podcaster, writer, investigator and public speaker (just this week’s list, by the way).
But why am I telling you all this? Because despite all the running about and long days, the three of us still find ourselves constantly asking how we can cover more, do better journalism and tell a wider range of stories about Glasgow.
That’s why we’re doing this campaign, where we keep sending everyone emails to sign up. We have a target of gaining 1,000 paid members in a month. Right now, we’re at the bottom of the mountain looking up at what seems an impossible goal. But it’s more than possible. Already, over 150 have backed our mission.
If we reach this target, it means we can deliver our promises to Glasgow, that will make our city better.
If you haven’t seen those five pledges, here’s the run down. We’re going to create internships and take students for work placement. My favourite is that three times a year we are going to host a public event where we and expert panels discuss important local issues. Thirdly, we’ll produce series of free articles going in depth on the biggest issues facing Glasgow. We’ll also shine a light on the good news (!!) something journalists are notoriously bad at, but that we know the city is lacking. Finally, we’ll launch a podcast, to take you lot behind the scenes.
Reaching our target would also mean, one day, we can grow The Bell. This would give me more time out of the office and on the ground, speaking to people, following leads and finding the stories that might otherwise go untold. More time knocking on doors, asking awkward questions and getting stuck into the things happening across Glasgow. That’s why I do these chaotic days.
If you’ve been enjoying The Bell for free, consider becoming a member. There are limited-time payment options for you to choose between - the best value is to buy a whole year for £65 and save over £40 (vs a monthly subscription). If you’re still not completely sure about signing up, our biggest discount currently means you can get it for just £2.99 a month for the next two months. By the time that ends I guarantee we will have proven ourselves to you, and if we’ve not, there’s no obligation to stay. We have until 15 November to reach 1,000 members and we’d love for you to be one of them. It could make a real difference to the kind of journalism we can do for Glasgow — and get me back out on the streets where I belong!
I usually finish working around 6pm, asking myself ‘what just happened?’, and making plans for tomorrow that’ll inevitably change. I then leave our east end HQ and walk home through The Bell’s city that keeps throwing up astonishing stories. Before too long, I’m itching to get back in and start it all again.
