From the archive · North Norfolk News · 2007–2009
My Shout: learning to listen.
Long before audience dashboards, I was discovering stories through reader letters and conversations about the issues that mattered to communities in North Norfolk.
Early journalism
As a teenage columnist for the North Norfolk News, I wrote about rural transport, opportunities for young people, community projects and local life. Readers shared their experiences, helping me see the stories beyond my own perspective.
From the front page
“The views you can’t afford to miss…”
A surviving North Norfolk News front-page promotion featuring my column on page 8, alongside fellow contributors Richard Batson and Alex Hurrell.
Selected columns / 2006–2009
Start with three stories.
My original newspaper writing, lightly edited for online reading. Three starting points for the people, places and platforms that interested me.
Social media / Community
Discovering Twitter: a new way to hear what Norfolk thinks
Before social listening became part of my job, I was looking at how a new website called Twitter could reveal what people in Norfolk were discussing.
Transport / Rural life
Hard to reduce your carbon footprint with such poor public transport
Last trains, missed connections and packed carriages: my 2007 column on why rural Norfolk was difficult to navigate without a car.
Broadcasting / Personal
The day Scott Mills cut my hair on television
An unlikely afternoon inside BBC Television Centre, three hours in a chair and a haircut by Radio 1’s Scott Mills.
My Shout archive / 5 columns
Technology & Broadcasting
The arrival of new platforms, changing television and radio, and the technology people were trying to use.
Digital TV switchover: will rural Norfolk be ready?
Why television switchover needed to work for people without reliable Freeview reception, internet access or a spare budget for equipment.
Is digital radio really the future for Norfolk?
From unreliable reception to the cost of new radios, I questioned whether the promise of DAB matched reality in rural Norfolk.
When Freeview went wrong: could Freesat help Norfolk?
A Freeview transmitter update left viewers struggling, while Freesat offered another route to digital television.
How an unexpected bank charge became a lesson in fraud
After finding an unfamiliar payment on a family bank account, I discovered just how frustrating it could be to get answers.
Goodbye 2008: Woolworths, local radio and the year in Norfolk
Remembering the closure of Woolworths, changes at Anglia and Radio Broadland and other moments from 2008.
My Shout archive / 8 columns
Community & Local Life
Young people, rural services, the places that bring communities together, and life in North Norfolk.
Are North Norfolk youngsters getting a fair deal?
In 2007, I challenged the generation gap in North Norfolk and asked why young people were being left out of decisions about their future.
When public transport leaves disabled students behind
A reader’s story changed how I thought about transport, accessibility and the barriers facing a wheelchair-using college student.
Holt Youth Project: what happens when a community works together
Back at my old youth club, I found a whole community making Holt Youth Project work, and teenagers challenging every stereotype.
The Bunker: giving North Norfolk teenagers somewhere to go
An unusual music venue in West Beckham showed how young people could create opportunities in their own community.
Where have all the places for young people gone?
From deserted playing fields to calls for more places to meet: a young perspective on what North Norfolk was missing.
What is there for teenagers to do in North Norfolk?
A summer column asking why holidays offered so few places and activities that appealed to teenagers.
Why did hospital patients have to pay so much to keep in touch?
A column questioning expensive hospital phone and television charges, with a side note about appearing on BBC Radio Norfolk.
Plastic bags: would young shoppers really go green?
Reusable bags were catching on in 2008, but I wondered whether retailers understood the habits of younger shoppers.
My Shout archive / 6 columns
Personal & Opinion
The lighter side of the column: unusual assignments, growing up, university and observations from Norfolk life.
Football fans: Norwich City versus Cromer
I disliked football, so naturally the newspaper sent me to cover Norwich City and Cromer. It turned out to be a story about belonging.
Why I chose a career in media instead of university
As my friends headed off to university in 2007, I was trying to break into journalism another way, and wondering if I’d made the right decision.
A year later, why I reconsidered going to university
In 2007 I explained why I was avoiding university. A year later, the realities of finding work had made me rethink that decision.
Christmas through the eyes of a student
A wry reflection on shopping, Christmas cards and the strange festive routines of student life.
An alternative Norfolk bucket list
From tractor queues to unexpected radio moments, my less-than-conventional list of things to do in Norfolk.
Looking into Norfolk’s future — with a crystal ball
A deliberately far-fetched forecast of silent discos, transport woes and the future of local media.
Then and now
Great stories start with listening.
From letters to a local newspaper to community-led digital newsgathering, that curiosity has stayed with me.