Contact us
To send us a story, or for general enquiries, email us at info@marlborough.news
To send in details of an event for listing in ‘What’s On’, email us at whatson@marlborough.news
We like to receive letters from readers. Please keep them short and send to letters@marlborough.news – with your address. We need to know your address so that we know you are real…but we will only publish a general address – e.g. ‘Harry Bloggs, Marlborough’ or ‘Joan Bloggs, Avebury’.
Marlborough News Online was launched in 2011 as a voluntary project with the aim of providing news that readers need to know about their community – its people, its events and what’s likely to happen in the near future. We provide a distinctive voice for Marlborough and its surrounding villages. We also report on Wiltshire-wide issues that will affect people in the area – such as the health of the NHS, local political changes, planning decisions, elections and Wiltshire Council services.
Our overall purpose, in the wake of cutbacks that have hit the existing local media and local government, is positive: to promote the area’s citizens, organisations and business enterprises. We want to give them a focus and share their achievements as well as their problems.
We will also – with the help of factual accounts and experts – analyse and challenge decisions made and not being made. And will track decisions that should be being made for the good of the community as a whole.
Several years ago, when the ‘.news’ URL tag was launched we changed to ‘marlborough.news’. We see our site as a force for good, supplying a constant flow of news, features, information – and fun – raising issues and supporting initiatives to boost the community and local economy.
Income derived from advertising and sponsorship gets deployed in two areas: firstly, to maintain and develop the site and cover basic expenses incurred; and secondly, to support local organisations and activities.
Your help and support is required as part of this community-based project – by becoming involved and offering press releases and/or stories, articles and details of events we can publish. We would also like to hear about omissions from our coverage.
We are especially keen to provide a comprehensive What’s On service – and need people to send in details of forthcoming events: whatson@marlborough.news
Our staple diet is not the gloomy/bad news side of journalism. But one area we do want to develop is our OBITUARIES section. We are keen to mark and celebrate the lives of those who have lived and worked in Marlborough and its surrounding villages. We can only really do this with the help of friends and relatives. Please let us know if you would like us to publish an Obituary.
We are especially keen to hear from anyone – older or younger – who could write for us so we can extend and improve the range of stories we cover. This applies especially to the villages.
You can contact:
- Neil Goodwin: neil@marlborough.news
- Sue Round: susan@marlborough.news
- Avril Babulus: ababulus@marlborough.news
Privately and independently owned
Big business has not been kind to local newspapers. When times were good, media conglomerates snapped up locally-owned newspapers. But the demand for profits to satisfy shareholders as advertising revenues decline means the major owners must make savings – by closing local offices, reducing staffing numbers and cutting back pagination. This is bad news for everyone.
We operate as a co-operative, which is different. They are owned by their members – in the case of marlborough.news by two media professionals, one of whom co-founded this website.
We operate as a newspaper, but without the expense, routine and deadlines of a printed paper. We are volunteers which enables us to keep running costs low. We rely on advertising to cover running costs and keep marlborough.news in operation.
Hence we are able to keep the cost of advertising – for jobs, display and awareness – down to an absolute minimum, thus making marlborough.news very competitive in the local marketplace, delivering a large committed audience for a very low cost. Many advertisers understand and appreciate this so additional income will – as noted above be used to support local organisations and activities.
Whilst we aren’t formally an independent press regulator member we make every effort to abide by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (ISPO) Editors’ Code of Practice.
Marlborough.news would like to acknowledge the assistance of Co-operative Futures and the Co-operative Enterprise Hub with their assistance in its founding.
Who we are:
Neil Goodwin
Neil grew up in the Marlborough area attending the Grammar School in the late sixties and early seventies. His formative years were spent in the sales and marketing area of broadcast media, initially for Scottish Television, then Independent Radio Sales, latterly as board director with the primary responsibility for developing the commercial side of LBC News Radio, one of the early independent companies. Across all of this period he was a regular reporter/contributor to numerous national motoring titles – a subject of great interest. He spent several years building a new media sponsorship agency before moving into the local press arena. Here he served with Home Counties Newspapers at the Hampstead & Highgate Express (otherwise known as the Ham & High) and the rest of their London portfolio, then moved to major publishers Archant as the Director of New Media for their regional titles. Three years spent building a multi-ethnic publishing company in London were followed by a move back home to Marlborough and a career specialising in magazine distribution and playing a role in his local community.
Email: neil@marlborough.news
Phone: 01672 861244
Sue Round
Sue’s background is in education rather than journalism. But she has produced a few school newspapers in her time!
She first moved to Marlborough in 1990 to teach at St. John’s. After 18 years at St. John’s, she moved in 2008 to Switzerland to join the Senior Leadership Team at the International School Basel.
On her return in 2016 she began writing for marlborough.news. An avid reader of local newspapers all her life, she sees marlborough.news as a valuable community asset providing up to the minute news, information and comment. And she gets to meet and interview all sorts of fascinating Marlborough people.
Email: susan@marlborough.news
Phone: 07484 814899
Avril Babulus
Avril is Marlborough.news’ secret weapon – our experienced and well-connected Investigative Reporter. Avril uncovers our exclusives, our regular scoops. Hence Avril maintains a discreet and incognito profile, but always delivers stories that are unique and that matter.
Email: ababulus@marlborough.news
Phone: ?
Get involved
If you would like to submit a press release or an article for consideration please contact us. We are especially keen to hear from budding journalists or community stalwarts who would like to write for Marlborough News Online on a regular basis.
To Advertise on Marlborough.news, click here
To find out more about Marlborough, click here
Complaints
While we always aim to be accurate in our reporting, we acknowledge that mistakes and errors can sometimes be made. If you would like to raise a complaint please email complaints@marlborough.news
Complaints will be dealt with on an individual basis within seven working days. A retraction or apology will be printed if deemed necessary.
We consider the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) Editors’ Code of Practice to be a sound statement of ethical and responsible behaviour for journalists – you can read the code here.
