HAPPY NEW YEAR, and welcome to the second edition of your new-look Caterham and District Independent.
The amount of work that goes into producing a newspaper is enormous. There are articles to be commissioned, layouts to plan, and advertising to schedule: there’s always something to do and barely enough time to do it in! I’ll be honest: in the run-up to December’s launch there were moments when the workload seemed overwhelming but I was supported throughout by an incredible team of designers, writers and social media experts.
Each one of them worked their socks off and I’d never have made the deadline without their help, expertise and inspiration.
And thank you for your amazing response to our first edition: your positive feedback made all the hard work worth it and has given us motivation to produce a newspaper filled with more news and local interest stories.
So, what’s happened since last month? In UK news, the election’s been and gone and a new EU leaving date has been set (31st January 2020). We’ll be keeping you up-to-date with any Brexit issues that affect your area.
New to the Caterham and District Independent is a ‘Your Points of View’ section. This paper is all about you, our readers, so this is your platform to raise the issues that matter to you or to ask questions about something you’d like to know more about. To find out how to get involved, please contact us.
We’ve also introduced a Spotlight feature, focusing on the people in our region that make a difference. You might even recognise the occasional celebrity!
From next month we will be featuring the fabulous local enterprise Ridge Radio. Based in their studio in Caterham Valley, they broadcast a wide range of music and shows with a dedicated focus on community. I’m really pleased that The Caterham and District Independent is now collaborating with our local community station.
Talking of radio programmes, I now have a regular slot on BBC Surrey (104.6 FM)! Join me on Mondays at 5.45pm, when I’ll be discussing three Tandridge news stories. If you’ve got a story that you think I should feature, please get in touch.
And finally, our new website has launched (and can be found at www.caterhamindependent.com) – take a look and let us know what you think.
It’s time for me to start planning February’s paper but before I do, I’d like to say thanks again to all our readers and local businesses for their support and encouragement. Without you, we wouldn’t be here!
Louise D’Costa
