ONE of the latest developments in local news reporting – micro newspapers and websites – sees a former MSP launch an online publication for just three North Ayrshire towns.
Campbell Martin has set up www.the3towns.com for Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston.
While local newspaper, the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, reports news from the towns, it also takes in nearby Dalry, Kilbirnie, Beith, West Kilbride, Kilwinning and Arran.
Says Martin: “Micro news sites are a fairly new innovation. They started in America and have
begun to appear on this side of the Atlantic.
“The object of the site is to provide a new way of accessing local news relating to Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston.
“We don’t intend to compete with established news providers – I don’t think we could, even if we wanted to. Instead, our remit is simply to use the web to highlight what is going on in the three towns, and what people think about issues affecting the area.
“the3towns is 21st century micro-news reporting, and we hope that local people in Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston will recognise that the news on the site relates to them, and that it is so easy for them to contribute to the site, either through the letters page or by sending in their own articles. It’s a local site with global reach.”
