About the Editor
Local campaigning, local journalism and the use of AI
The Romiley Gazette is an independent online newspaper covering issues affecting Romiley and the surrounding communities.
The Gazette is edited by a long-standing local campaigner who has spent many years researching local issues and challenging decisions affecting the community.
That campaigning background includes a successful campaign against proposals by Tesco. The campaign attracted national attention, including coverage by the BBC in September 2006 when planning permission for the Tesco proposal was refused. The BBC’s report was titled “Tesco planning permission refused.”
The experience of that campaign reinforced a simple principle which continues to guide the Gazette:
Local people should be able to question powerful organisations and expect decisions affecting their communities to be properly explained.
The Gazette is not affiliated with Stockport Council, any political party or any commercial organisation whose activities it reports on.
AI-assisted journalism
The Gazette is open about using artificial intelligence as an editorial and research tool.
AI can be used to help with research, document analysis, chronology building, drafting and identifying questions which require further investigation.
However, AI does not have editorial control of the Gazette.
Every article is reviewed and checked by the Editor before publication.
Where an article concerns potentially contentious matters, particular care is taken to distinguish between:
- established facts supported by documentary evidence;
- statements made by individuals or organisations;
- allegations which have not been independently established;
- matters which remain disputed; and
- questions which the Gazette is asking a public authority or other organisation to answer.
The Gazette also seeks to give organisations and individuals a fair opportunity to respond to matters concerning them.
Where Stockport Council, for example, is the subject of an article, the Council will be offered an opportunity to provide its response. If the Council believes that a factual statement is incorrect or requires clarification, the Gazette will consider and, where appropriate, publish that response.
Campaigning and journalism
The Editor’s background as a campaigner is openly acknowledged.
Campaigning and journalism are not the same activity. A campaigner may seek a particular outcome, whereas journalism has a responsibility to report evidence, competing positions and unanswered questions fairly.
The Gazette therefore aims to make that distinction clear.
Where the Gazette is investigating an issue in the public interest, its purpose is not necessarily to argue that a particular outcome should follow. It is to establish what happened, what evidence exists, what remains disputed and what those responsible have to say.
The Editor believes that vigorous scrutiny and fairness are not opposites.
A local publication can ask difficult questions while still giving those being questioned an opportunity to answer them.
That is the approach the Romiley Gazette seeks to follow.
