Hectic

Apologies for the lack of a blog on Friday, but there's a very good reason.
We are currently in the midst of a major revamp of our sister title in East Grinstead. I won't go into the details here but two papers are being merged into a single, bigger paper.
All sounds exciting, and it will be, but first I have to get my head around all the computer/staffing/content issues this creates.
On top of this, our new website launches in two days time. It is true what they say - these things do seem to come in pairs or, in this case, bucketfuls.
Still, onwards and upwards. Wednesday's News is shaping up quite nicely, with a highlight being the announcement of the winner of our Miss Crawley contest.
I know who has won - we'll tell you all on Wednesday morning.

Exam failure

Just a footnote to our exam result coverage today.
Four town secondary schools provided their results, spoke to our reporters and let us take happy, smiling pictures of the students.
One school told us to bog off.
Take a bow - Ifield Community College.
Fair enough they might not want us around the school on a busy day, but why on earth would they refuse to even give us the results over the phone or by email?
I know some people have little time for newspapers, but has it occured to the school's hierarchy there might just be a few parents who actually quite want to see coverage of their child's school.
Worse still, not disclosing the results will simply make people think the school has something to hide, like duff A-Level grades, for example.
This probably isn't the case, so why create this cloud of suspicion?

Results Day

It is eight years since my A-Level results day but I still remeber it fairly clearly.
I woke up feeling nervous, got to school feeling more nervous, picked up my results, and headed for the nearest Wetherspoons to drink cheap beer.
In a nutshell, probably what most 18-year-olds in Crawley are doing right now.
Some things don't change, but others do - like the Crawley News website, for example.
This time next week (gremlins permitting) this website will look very different, but still with the same mix of breaking news, sport and entertainment you already get from us.
Stay tuned.

Northern Monkeys

A bizarre report by a Conservative think tank says people from certain towns in the north of England should move south to improve their prospects.
This would see hundreds of people vacating places like Sunderland and Bradford, and swarming into home county towns such as Oxford and Cambridge.
The Tories have immediately distanced themselves from the report. Hardly surprising, it's not exactly a vote winner is it?
Here at the News we have our very own north south divide - reporter Kirsty Rigg hails from Rochdale, which is oooop narf.
She is a strong supporter of her native land, as you might expect. And true, people in the north are generally friendlier and more welcoming.
They do, of course however, all wear flat caps, string vests and eat tripe.

Maddie

When little Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007, wall-to-wall coverage dominated the 24-hour news channels and newspapers.
Scroll forward 15 months - and nothing has changed.

"Maddie: 3 sightings in Belgium", says today's Sun.
"Did they snatch Maddie? First pics of Dutch sighting suspects," says The Mirror.

It goes without saying that this is a dreadful, tragic case and everyone must still cling to the hope that she is alive and well.
But I wonder whether the daily diet of tabloid tip-offs and conspiracy theories is really helping matters.
How legitimate, for example, are these three sightings in Belgium? Who exactly are these Dutch suspects?
The Daily Express is famous for getting Princess Diana on its front page in some form as often as possible. Diana = sales, is the theory.
I hope these stories help in the hunt for Maddie, but the cynic within me says they do more to boost the sales of the red-tops.

Changes

Pretty soon, you will notice some big changes to our website.
A couple of weeks from now the site will be undergoing a major revamp which, we hope, will make it a bit easier on the eye and also, simpler to navigate and use.
One thing we are particularly hoping to do is expand the blogging section of the site, so we can hear the views of a wide variety of voices from across Crawley.
If you fancy having your say on a regular basis and reckon you can do a better job than me (not hard, let's face it) then please drop me an email - editor@crawleynews.co.uk

Back in blightly

I've been back in the office for five hours now but still don't quite know where I am or what I'm doing.
It's that kind of post-holiday, out-of-body experience which seems to take at least a day to wear off.
Before I left, I was set the challenge of finding a Crawley-related story while sunning myself in Cyprus.
This was inspired by Chief Reporter Michael Connellan, who once stumbled across a Crawley Town FC fan while on a skiing holiday.
I struggled on this mission (not that I tried very hard, admittedly) until, the day before I left, I met an Irish woman who told me she had spent Saturday night in a "lovely market town" just outside London.
"Where?", I asked.
"I think it was called Crawley," she replied.
Bingo!
Not exactly newsworthy, but I'm sure our town's hierarchy will be happy with the "lovely market town" label.

Fear of crime...

With Glenn enjoying a post-10k run holiday, it falls to me to keep the blog ticking over so I thought I'd tackle a classic newspaper problem.
Whenever journalists meet senior police officers, the term "fear of crime" is sure to come up at least every ten seconds.
The police worry that we (the media) convince people danger is around every corner and no-one is safe. While many people may feel like this, it is a very difficult thing for us to get right. "Teenager not stabbed" seems an unlikely headline for any publication.
A town as big as Crawley will almost certainly have at least one newsworthy crime each week so you could easily form the view crime is out of control.
I can't honesty say whether this is the reality in rough parts of London, although the national press is keen on teenage knife crime at present.
However, as keen readers will have noticed, we reported this week that knife crime is down in Crawley, regardless of what is going on elsewhere. In fact, there have been no fatal stabbings, or indeed murders of any kind, since I joined the News a year ago.
All we can do is report what goes on and hope people are sensible enough not to get carried away.
And in case you were wondering, our fearless leader didn't go to the Spurs game but he will get plenty of stick when he gets back. I look forward to his excuses...

Off to the beach

One more deadline day to go, then I'm off on my travels for a fortnight.
I love my job but I can't deny the prospect of a holiday fills me full of joy, rather than sadness.
However, I still have one last dilemma. The mighty Spurs are coming down to the Broadfield tonight to give Crawley Town a footballing lesson.
An enticing prospect - except that I have to get up at 4am tomorrow morning to catch a flight to Cyprus.
Tottenham Hotspur or sleep? Some would say the former induces the latter....
This week hasn't been the busiest ever, a slow news week in newspaper parlance, but the troops have come through with a decent paper.
Keep an eye on the website for all the breaking news. Meanwhile, I'll leave this blog in the safe hands of my fellow Crawley News team members for the next two weeks.
Adios.

The Mail myth

For a year or so now, the Crawley News has been owned by parent company Northcliffe Media.
Northcliffe own, among other titles, The Daily Mail, which is famed for its right of centre, hard-line on the big issues.
A few correspondents in my mailbox have seized on this link, 'detecting the hand of the Mail' in how we choose to pursue and report certain stories.
Time to explode a myth I'm afraid. In the past year I can quite confidently state I have not had a single conversation or correspondence with anyone from the Daily Mail.
The editorial policy of the Crawley News is solely determined here. Ultimately, we decide how to report on our stories.
I'd love to say the good people at the Daily Mail take a keen interest in the affairs of Crawley, but I'm afraid I would be lying.
Great conspiracy theory though.

Miss Crawley

Regular visitors to this site will no doubt be enjoying our Miss Crawley competition.
Well, the men will be anyway.
All good fun and, I think it’s fair to say, we have our fair share of attractive women in this town if the pictures online are anything to go by.
Please carry on sending your pictures by email to editor@crawleynews.co.uk You can see the latest pictures by clicking on the Miss Crawley link on the homepage.
By the way ladies don’t fret – Mr Crawley is on its way soon.

I survived!

Today I'm not just the content editor of the Crawley News - I'm also the town's 414th best distance runner.
Well, sort of anyway.
This was my position in yesterday's St Catherine's 10k run.
Not that impressive considering just over 600 people took part but still, I was happy to finish with my pride, if not my body, intact.
Special mention should go to the News' very own action man Sam Munnery, who finished in 14th place - a full 400 positions in front of me.
Reporter Michael Connellan achieved an altogether different sort of 'distinction' on the day but I'll preserve his modesty on this public forum.
All in all, a great day, super atmosphere and hopefully, lots of money raised for St Catherine's.
Keep an eye on this website today for plenty of pictures and news from the event.

History Lesson

Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted a clanger on page 15 of our paper this week.

"A "warm-hearted" centurion known for her love of Guinness has passed away, just weeks after her 100th birthday."

A centurion, I'm sure 99 per cent of the population know, is a Roman soldier. Unfortunately, your dim local newspaper editor here was in the one per cent who didn't know this.
Apologies to all concerned, but I have to hold my hands up on this one.
I'm off on another training course now, before getting myself prepared for Sunday's 10k run.
The next time I submit a blog here, my limbs will be aching quite a bit more than they do at the moment.

Legal Eagle

Another day, another course.
Media Law was the subject today, one which I find fascinating but scary in equal measure.
Doing this job day to day it's easy to forget the tightrope we walk with every story that goes into print. One slip can inadvertently damage the reputation of the person involved in the story, the standing of the paper and, ultimately, put a pretty huge dent in the bank balance.
Newspapers and other media outlets have a duty to their readers to be fair and accurate in their reporting.
Believe me, any failure to do that comes with a very high price.
A day in Tunbridge Wells meant no time for running. Just four days to go until the Crawley 10k run and to say I feel confident, well, would be a lie really. At least the weather forecast looks ok.
Finally, a moment of light relief on an otherwise stressful deadline day yesterday. For whatever reason, people seem to have problems with grasping the name of our reporter Sian Hewitt.
Some say 'Si Ann', most just settle for 'Shaun', seemingly obliviously that poor Sian isn't actually a bloke.
Yesterday, however, someone on the subs desk went a stage further and managed to add an extra letter to Sian's name.
Henceforth, she will now be known as 'Asian Hewitt'.

Holy Cow

A character called Billa, who is, apparently, a cow with red lipstick, has left this tribute on the Maidenbower residents' site:

"You need to be a bit thick to take the Crawley News seriously. You can tell when you read the editorial that he holds himself in high esteem. "

Well, I am the greatest editor on planet Earth after all. Thanks Billa.

Parking blues

Until Friday, I'd only ever received one parking ticket in my life.
Now, I've had three.
Firstly it's worth saying that neither of these incidents happened in Crawley. So our men in the yellow coats are in the clear.
One on Friday which, admittedly, was my fault. I got caught up in a meeting at our Croydon office and ended up back at my car 40 mins late. Fair cop guv.
Yesterday, I got another lovely yellow sticker on my windscreen, but the circumstances here were rather different.
After a much-needed last minute training run before next week's big fundraiser (see previous posts), I emerged from the gym a full six minutes late, only to see the sticker being slapped on my car.
Yes I was late but: 1. Only by a few minutes, 2. The car park was half-empty at the time, so I was hardly taking up a valuable space, and 3. Why should I have to pay 70p to park on a Sunday in the first bloody place?
At this point, I lost my rag and swore loudly at the traffic warden for a good couple of minutes. Not to be condoned, I admit, but it made me feel better anyway.
I just hope he took my career advice on board after our brief encounter.

Running scared

It seemed like such a good idea at the time.
At the turn of the year, I committed myself to taking part in the Crawley 10k run in aid of the brilliant St Catherine's Hospice.
I'm no runner but it would get me fit, it was for a great cause and, of course, my Crawley News comrades would be running with me every step of the way.
Or not.
One by one, they've all been dropping like flies - some are on holiday, others preferring to enter the 3k fun run instead (fun runs are for girls, I say)
Now, thanks to reporter Alex Morrison's gammy leg, it looks like I could be on my tod come July 13.
Even worse, there have been some ridiculous suggestions floating around the office that I should wear some sort of funny wig or fancy dress, as if I won't look enough of a clown trying to run already.
As it stands I'm panting my way through 6 and 7k runs but 10k?
For the sake of those kind enough to sponsor me, I really hope so.

Labouring the point

For a couple of weeks now we've had a poll up on the site asking the simple question - if there was a General Election tomorrow, which party would you vote for?
Hardly Mori or Gallup standard admittedly, but it has produced an intruiging result, with the under-fire Labour party coming out on top.
Very much against the national trend this, which could mean one of four things:

1. Crawley voters are out of tune with the national media perception that Gordon Brown is doing a bad job
2. People in our town are very happy with current MP Laura Moffatt
3. Red Rose supporters have sabotaged our poll and made sure their party comes out on top
4. More socialists use the internet

Fern back in favour

Just received another of my favourite PR emails:

"Research has revealed that Britain’s mums think that Fern Britton has the perfect balance of family life. The study shows the lovable TV host has been named the UK’s favourite celebrity mum, knocking Posh Spice off her pedestal and giving royalty a run for its money, with Sarah Fergusson coming in joint bottom."

Looks like all is forgiven following 'gastric band' gate then.

Tragic story

It's been three weeks since we first reported the story about Kieran Lindsey's tragic death and still, understandably, feelings are running high.
It is a horrid, tragic case which re-inforces the dangers of dabbling with any sort of drug, particularly class A substances.
Our coverage on this was pretty forthright and made for disturbing reading and, because of this, a few readers weren't too happy with the picture painted.
While a police investigation is still ongoing, I can't say too much (though I really wish I could)
All I will say is that the people at that party took a lot of drugs and, as a result, a young lad tragically lost his life.
You can blame lots of people for that but a newspaper isn't one of them.

Greatest Hits

Thought you might be interested to know the five most popular stories since the website began. You'll soon notice a pattern emerges:

1. Former Crawley Town FC coach driver claims the club owe him "thousands"
2. Ex-Reds' owner Azwar Majeed jailed
3. Angry pupils storm school
4. Fire destroys recycling centre
5. Reds play waiting game as goalkeeper stalls

Three of the five relate to the town's football club. When it comes to getting the hits, us newshounds like to think our great scoops attract the readers where, in reality, news on Crawley Town's star striker or midfield destroyer is far more likely to generate traffic.

Techno, techno, techno, techno

Forgive the awful 2 Unlimited reference in the headline for this blog, I'm slowly being driven nuts by my painfully slow computer.
Isn't technology just great?
Once I finally get the piece of junk to work properly, this week's paper should be an absolute cracker.
Very few stories actually make me gasp and utter expletives out loud - but one in particular had just that effect on me this week.
All will be revealed tomorrow.

A tough course

Apologies for the lack of blogging last week. I spent Thursday and Friday on a course at our Reigate office.
The course was on recruitment and selection - basically the process that has to be followed if and when we need to recruit a new member of staff.
I won't bore you with the details here, except to say that I hope and pray no one leaves the Crawley News anytime soon.
I'm very happy with the team we have here and, more to the point, my tiny brain couldn't handle the amount of paperwork/admin/general faffing around a new recruit would involve.
Moving on to this week's paper, it's been another busy week in Crawley.
I'll update you on what's in store for this week's News tomorrow once deadline is safely (hopefully) negotiated.

Fuelling a crisis?

It is all too easy to blame the media.
Sports stars, in particular, and politicans are often guilty of saying "it's all the media's fault" when, usually, they are the one's perpetuating the stories in the first place.
Now and again, however, the media is guilty as charged, the so-called petrol 'crisis' this week being a prime example.
Every time I switch on the TV I have a news reporter telling me about panic buying and a fuel crisis - yet I haven't seen a single queue at a petrol station or any closures over the past few days.
Is there really a spate of panic buying at the pumps? Or do the news hounds just wish there was?
Without dumping on some of my fellow journalists, this is where I think 24 hour news falls down.
Sky News, the BBC, etc.. have so much airtime to fill that they feel obliged to talk up stories that, well, aren't really stories.

Happy Days

The paper is coming along nicely at the moment but, on a complete tangent, a few things which are making me happy at the moment:

My perceptive £5 on Croatia to win EURO 2008
Having the thrilling Dutch as my team in the Crawley News sweepstake for the above tournament
Kevin Pietsersen's incredible "reverse hitting" in the cricket yesterday
Ice-cold Strongbow cider
The joys of shopping for a new bathroom (I never knew taps could be so much fun)
The new 'Crawley News' frisbees we've had delivered to the office. Much better than the pens, which are about as robust as a feather in a gale.

Back to the paper, last week was probably one of the most dramatic and busiest here for a long time.
This week has been calmer, but there are still a few things bubbling under the surface including our likely front page, a story sure to enrage and worry parents in equal measure.

Getting shirty

I love the sunshine and this time of year, except for one thing.
Why, oh why do men (normally very ugly, tattoed ones) feel the need to disrobe and go topless at the first sign of sun.
On the beach? Fair enough. On a building site? Understandable.
But when I'm out shopping, going for a walk or, worse, eating, the last thing I want to see is some oik showing off his bare torso.
Take a walk around Crawley today and you'll see it. A few well-honed torsos yes, but mostly it's man boobs o' clock.
Enjoy the sunshine lads by all means but, please, put it away.

Worrying times

Without wanting to sound like a contributor to the Daily Mail (bang goes my promotion) these are worrying times in which we live.
The violence on our streets is reaching a totally unacceptable level. Hardly a day goes by without another young person needlessly losing their life.
Call it gang culture, weapons culture, whatever. It is deeply concerning.
It was brought home to me this week when I was weighing up our choice of front page story.
I decided against the story about the 13-year-old taking a BB gun into Thomas Bennett college because, frankly, everyone I spoke to didn't seem that shocked about it.
When teenagers carrying guns (imitation or not) into the classroom becomes commonplace, it really is time to start worrying.

Decisions, Decisions

Two stories were vying for our front page this week - both of which, I think, will provoke shock and despair in equal measure.
One of the stories revolves around the very topical (but worrying) subject of youths, crime and possessing weapons they really shouldn't.
However, I plumped for a twist on an old favourite - Crawley's depleted health service.
What happened when a girl was diagnosed with appendicitis at the Crawley walk-in centre?
Find out by visiting this site tomorrow morning....

Toy story

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Knackered

I'm always bloody tired these days. Maybe it's age, maybe it's stress, maybe it's the high blood pressure I apparently have?
Or maybe it's the training regime I'm in the middle of for the St Catherine's 10k run in July.
Whatever it is, there's only so much copious cans of Red Bull can do for your system. It's hardly "giving me wings", put it that way.
Our front page this week about the scrapping of two big summer events - the Mela and the carnival - should appeal to everyone who cares about Crawley.
I know these events haven't been well attended in recent times, but I still think it's pretty sad they are dying away.

Good cops

As a footnote to the below post, I think it's worth mentioning my positive experience of Crawley Police yesterday.

Whatever I think of the punishment and end result, the officers who dealt with the case were friendly, helpful and professional.

There have been (and I'm sure there will be in the future) times where we have had to hold the town's police to account for something they've done wrong.

But my experience yesterday, at least, was very positive.

It's also worth pointing out that our aggressor from yesterday has today called the office to apologise for his actions.

Now all we need is a new door.

Justice?

Week in week out we carry stories which, we realise, won't please everyone (especially one's about school 'riots'..)
Court cases carry a particular risk. After all, if someone we report on is capable of carrying out a violent crime, there's always half a chance they might hunt us down for a good kicking afterwards.
This rarely happens, but yesterday it did. Was it over a court case? No. A controversial, sensitive topic? Not really.
It was to do with an item featured in our Celebrations page.
I won't go into the full, grotty details here but it resulted in a few hundred quids' worth of damage to our door, a lot of abuse and, in all seriousness, a pretty scary few minutes for our team.
Last night, I was told the offender has been given a caution and will not face prosecution.
I won't tell you what I think of that outcome here but, if someone kicked your door in and threatened your family, would you be happy if they escaped prosecution?

Good riddance

Probably the worst thing about Crawley is, at this very moment, being removed from the town forever.
I'm talking about Sussex House, the big ugly building at the bottom of the high street.
Sussex House, to put it mildly, is (or was) a horrible building. The term eyesore was invented for it.
They used to have a similarly awful building in Portsmouth called the Tricorn. All concrete and no style.
The 60's might have brought us The Beatles, a man on the moon and an English World Cup triumph but it was also the decade of truly terrible architecture.
The bulldozers are taking to Sussex House today and, soon, it seems likely that the other great Crawley eyesore - the Central Sussex College tower - will also get the demolition treatment.
First impressions are crucial. If the first thing you see driving into town are the two ugliest buildings known to man, it's not exactly going to make a positive impression.
Which is why the JCB's are very welcome, as far as I'm concerned.

Hello from Croydon

I've been on a training course these past couple of days, so am writing this blog from Croydon.
Consequently, I'm a bit out of the loop with the latest from Crawley.
From what I hear, it's been a bit of a 'slow week' in newspaper parlance - armed robberies or, dare I say it, school 'riots' don't happen every week - but the troops have still put together an excellent paper.
Why was a disabled man labelled a fire hazard? Which endangered species is causing a stir in one Crawley neighbourhood?
All will be revealed tomorrow.

What a riot

Further to my earlier post, you might have noticed the comments are piling up on our Oriel School story - many of them not too positive about us.
Leaving arguments about who said what, etc.. to one side, all I will say is that any suggestion we started a "riot" at the school (as one correspondent implies) is totally ludicrious.
Contrary to popular belief, newspapers aren't in the business of making up stories or, even worse, encouraging people to manufacture a story by breaking the law.
The ironic thing is, newspapers are often accused of "sensationalism" yet some of the comments we receive (and others posted on certain holier-than-thou residents forums) are 10 times more "sensationalist" than anything we ever publish.
I go back to my original point - this is one of the most widely-read stories we have ever published.
Just shows you that the most criticised stories are also often the most popular. The critics just shout a bit louder.

Non Story?

Often, when the odd person says "why are you reporting this" or, "this is not a story", it tends to mean the exact opposite for the majority of readers.


Take this comment that's just dropped into my inbox regarding our front page this week, about the student protest at Oriel School:


"Well done for putting a total non story on the front of your newspaper this week.

"I find it incredible that you thought this was an actual story and a front page one at that, that managed to eclipse an armed robbery."


Now consider this - twice as many people read this story yesterday as any other on our website.


Infact, it got more hits in a single day than any other story I can remember since we launched this site in February.


If it is a non-story, it's clearly a very interesting one.

Memories, memories

I've been a news editor for just over a year but, every now and again, something happens which makes me miss the buzz of being a reporter.
Often its a big breaking news story, like last week's car chase, but on Monday I missed the chance to meet a few sporting legends, who are taking part in the Superstars revival at K2.
Alex Morrison was the lucky man who got to rub shoulders with, among others, Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Kelly Homes and Mike Catt.
But it was only when Alex told me about another famous face he'd chatted to that I was truly jealous.
Jim Rosenthal (right), the host of Superstars, is a sports presenting legend in my eyes.
To me, he brings back memories of World Cups, Sunday afternoon matches on ITV and those epic Eubank/Benn boxing bouts of the mid-90s.
Sports presenters now are either too polished (Gary Lineker), too dull (Gabby Logan) or, in Steve Rider's case, look like they'd rather be covering a boat show than the Champions League final.
At least Jim has a bit of passion.When Alex asked him for his favourite sporting memory, he replied it was England's 2003 Rugby World Cup Final victory, which left him so speechless he was worried he wouldn't be able to contain his excitement on air
The day a journalist loses the passion for his subject is the day he should give up the job.
Sounds like there's a few years left in Jim yet.

Taking the Pete?

Late yesterday, I received this rather odd news release via email. I really don't know what to make of it....



Pete Doherty Welfare Fund raises £17.10

A special welfare fund set up for Pete Doherty has raised just £17.10, it was revealed today.
Lastseason.com - the UK' leading online discount fashion retailer - launched the welfare fund last month by offering a select range of big brand stripey tops with a percentage of the sales to be set aside to assist Pete Doherty once he got of jail.



Serious, a lame joke, or just clever marketing? Utterly bizzare, whatever way you look at it.

Feeling the heat

There's one downside to a Bank Holiday weekend - the day after.
Today was Monday and Tuesday lumped into one, meaning twice the workload in a stuffy, sweaty office while others soak up the rays outside.
No matter - this week's paper looks great, short week or not. Look out for an extreme example of weight loss, the fallout from last week's elections, and news of a top TV show being filmed next week in Crawley.
I'll keep my powder dry for now, only to say that former Olympians, Rugby World Cup winning superstars and the scorer of one of the greatest FA Cup final goals ever will soon be gracing the track at K2.
A prospect that has got a couple of sport-mad hacks in the office just a little gooey-eyed.

A gripping tale

Judging by the comments left on this website, the story of runaway teen Victoria Pilkington has really captured the imagination.
Our story this week is pretty unusual - not exactly staple local newspaper fayre but it's equally gripping and fascinating, whatever your opinion of the case.
Elsewhere, tomorrow is your annual chance to tell the politicians what you really think of them.
Without getting all preachy, I'd urge as many of you as possible to get out and vote.
After all, do you really have a right to complain about the service you get from your council if you don't even bother to vote?
You only get one chance a year to make your voice truly heard - don't waste it.
You can read the latest on this week's vote by visiting the election section of our website - inclduing a full rundown of who is standing in your ward.

Busy, Busy, Busy

A bank holiday might only be one extra day off, but it has about a fortnight's worth of repurcussions for us.
For example today, while trying frantically to finish this week's paper, I'm already having to think about next week's - which won't pass through your doors for a full eight days.
Sob story over with tomorrow's Crawley News is looking great - a mixture of sad, controversial, thought-provoking and funny stories.
That's what we try to achieve every week, just some weeks it falls into place more than others.

Chariots of Dire

AS I've mentioned before, in July I'll be donning my running shoes along with a few other News team members for the 10k run in aid of St Catherine's Hospice.

Over the coming weeks we will be running an entry form in the paper, encouraging as many of you as possible to take part.

To 'launch' the Crawley News' coverage of the race, reporters Alex Morrison, Michael Connellan and I had our pictures taken yesterday down at K2, in full running garb.

For nothing but my own amusement, I've attached a picture of Michael and his comedy run.

By the way, I'm the one that looks like Brad Pitt.


On a more serious note, Alex is also doing his bit for St Catherine's by tackling the daunting Three Peaks Challenge over the bank holiday weekend.

You can sponsor him by following the link below.



www.justgiving.com/cashforcare

Most Read

One thing I've discovered about our website is that it's a great market research tool.
At the touch of a button, I can find out which stories are the most popular and, in theory, what sort of stuff you all like to read.
Here are our top five most read stories of the past seven days.

1. Mum's fury as police refuse to send missing girl home
2. My wife is hot, boasts council leader
3. Tributes paid to a loving father
4. Breast-flashing mum dumped toddler in road
5. Tragic teen loses legs to rare disease

Notice the entry at number 2. This story was derided by a few contributors (see below) but it got more hits than any other story on our website bar one.
Newspapers are often accused of dumbing down and going for a sensationalist angle but, as this case proves, a lot of you seem to like a bit of light relief now and again.

Sense of humour failure part II

Another fan of our "hot mama" story has posted a comment.

"The Crawley News stoops to a new all time low "we've got nothing else to publish" gutter level. Do you guys get paid to produce this complete and utter drivel?"

Some people just don't know groundbreaking, barrier-shifting journalism when they see it.

What a joke

The small 100-word titbit about council leader Henry Smith calling his wife "hot stuff" has provoked a mixed reaction among you.
I thought it was a harmless and, actually quite charming little insight into the life of a powerful figure.
However one guy, who just left this comment on our site, clearly didn't get the joke:

"I'm sorry. I thought this was a paper that reported NEWS!", he says.

Mr Palmer, I've just called Crawley Hospital and they are happy to book you in for a sense of humour by-pass later today.

Slide Shows

You can now see what I'm on about below by visiting the slide shows section of our website

http://www.thisiscrawley.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=256887&command=newPage

Follow this link for pictures of some excellent singers, East Grinstead's fine Chequer Mead Theatre and a grown man (that'll be me then) looking about as comfortable on the stage as Steve McClaren did under that umbrella.

Aside from such nonsense, this week's Crawley News is looking good. Find out tomorrow, among other things, how a row involving the man in charge of the town centre has led to the popular farmers market upping sticks and leaving Crawley.

That's Showbiz

I spent an entertaining Saturday night judging a talent contest run by our sister paper, The East Grinstead Observer.
I was part of a three-pronged judging panel comprising of myself, the town mayor and a talent agent - think Osbourne, Walsh and Cowell, minus the tight trousers.
Quite how qualified I was to judge this event is questionable. My singing ability is somewhat limited and I was once told to mime at a school carol concert because I wasn't exactly hitting the right notes.
Even scarier, I had to get up on stage at the end of this rather surreal evening and announce the winner along with the Mayor, who rather rained on my moment in the sun by muttering the first name of the chosen one before I even had the chance to make my big annoucement into the microphone.
Dazzled by the stage lights, I also made myself look a complete tool by performing a part catalogue/part lifeguard pose and shielding my eyes against the glare while announcing the victor.
A fun evening but one, I think, that provided a valuable lesson.
Showbusiness isn't for me.

New Toy

The great thing about working with the website is it is like having a new toy to play with.
This afternoon, for example, I've discovered the joys of putting together a photo slideshow.
Yes, I know, hardly the most difficult task in the world but pretty impressive for someone who can barely wire a plug or cook a pizza without burning it.
Keep an eye on the slideshow section from now on and you will see a few more of these treats appear.
If we come to cover your event and the picture doesn't appear in the paper, this is the place to go from now on.

Ghosts in the machine

Great.
It's deadline day and my computer doesn't work.
If it doesn't improve by mid-afternoon, brace yourself for the first ever (to the best if my knowledge) hand-written Crawley News.
Assuming everything is sorted though, this week's paper should be a cracker, and I'm particularly taken by one story about a man with a pretty unusual, but equally fascinating, job.
All will be revealed tomorrow.

Do ya think he's sexy?

Making my way home last night I recieved an excitable text message from one of our reporters, saying a major A-list celebrity had been spotted in a town centre bar.

An hour or so later, a phonecall from a News reporter (who shall remain nameless) confirmed he had indeed just seen Mr Rod Stewart.

Not only that, two of our intrepid team had lured him into the News office, grabbed a world exclusive interview and taken a snap of the mullet-topped rock god.

I was pretty excited at the prospect of a great scoop at this point - then they sent me the picture of 'Rod'...

Village idiots?

One story sure to stir debate is the row brewing over the status of Maidenbower.
Some of its residents, rather grandly, refer to it as 'Maidenbower village'. They don't want to be part of Crawley, they are better than that, of course.
A few Crawley-ites, understandably I would say, have taken offence to this and used the web to hit back at the slur on their town.
Fact is, if you live in Maidenbower you live in one of Crawley's 13 neighbourhoods. Like it or not, made in Maidenbower means made in Crawley. Is that really something to be ashamed of?
The people of Maidenbower, quite admirably, are proud of their neighbourhood, but if they think they live in a village then they clearly suffer from the Egyptian disease.
They are in De Nile.

Breakdown

A first day back after a week off is never pleasant, but mine has been even more hectic than usual.

As of about 10pm last night, I was standing on a grass verge outside Gatwick Airport, with smoke pouring from my car, watching the town's finest firefighters push my four wheels out of the entrance to the Hilton Hotel.

Having been away from Crawley for a week, my first trip back to the town was about eight hours earlier than anticipated - sitting in my car as it was being towed along the A23, feeling cold, depresssed and slightly embarassed that I'd enlisted the help of our brave emergency services for what turned out to be "a bit of condensation".

To be fair, I thought it was smoke but whatever the problem, it's still cost me a neat £135 to get it fixed, not to mention a morning of unwanted hassle.

Things, as the great D-Ream once sang, can only get better.

Amazon adventure

With our fearless leader (Glenn) enjoying his extended Easter break, it has fallen to me to add the latest from the newsroom.
As you will see from our main news page, it has been a busy week for us since the long weekend. With so much "hard news" going on, I thought I would concentrate on something a bit more fun for this entry.
As you might remember from our Janury 30 edition, a Crawley man is one of two guys planning to become the first to walk the Amazon river. Like most men, I would like to think I could live in the jungle like Ray Mears but the reality is that I would starve in about 20 minutes.
Luke Collyer, who went to Thomas Bennett, and his friend Ed Stafford are up against all sorts of horrors which would be scary enough at home but will be truly terrifying so far from modern medical help.
Luke kindly explained to me what flesh-eating disease leishmaniasis does to the body. I won't spoil your Friday night with the details but rest assured it's not very nice!
Bearing in mind the risks, I can't help but feel inspired by these guys. Most of us will never do anything half as difficult or dangerous but they seem optimistic ahead of the challenge, which will take over a year even if all goes to plan.
I look forward to reading their blog entries and you can rest assured the News will keep you up to date as they pass through land shared by snakes, alligators, drug dealers and a million other perils.

Time for a break

Most people love Easter, but - much like Christmas - it's not a great time of year for newspapers.
The four-day weekend means less time to produce the paper, meaning we are already well into producing next Wednesday's edition of The News.
My day started badly, as two members of the same family threatened to sue me, but it has improved since then.
The fact I'm only one day away from a week's holiday and the prospect of scoffing lots of Easter eggs over the weekend also makes me pretty happy.
Speaking of which, I'll be leaving the paper (and this blog) in the capable hands of our fine reporting team for the next week, while I soak up the rays in sunny Nottingham.
See you soon.

The Day Today

Still reeling from the news that Keith Chegwin backs National Chip Week (see below) I've done some extensive research (two minutes on my lunch break) and discovered there are dozens of these themed days/weeks. For instance:

The last week of January was 'Loud tie month'
April 24 is 'Take your sons and daughters to work day'
August 11 is 'International left-handers day'
May 11-17 is 'British sandwich week'

And, my absolute favourite,

'International talk like a pirate day'

September 19 if you're interested.

Junk Mail

Every now and then, our group editor Ian Carter likes to use his blog (see http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/ - do I get a pay rise for that boss?) to list a few 'highlights' from his inbox.
One of my first jobs every morning is to sort the wheat from the chaff in my email inbox. For every great story or letter, I get a dozens of pieces of bilge trying to flog me viagra, some terminally-dull business email filled with corporate speak or a 'letter' from some Z-list celeb, endorsing a product or another ridiculous cause.
Only from doing this job, for instance, do I know that Keith Chegwin was the official backer of National Chip Week recently.
Just to prove a point, here are a few items which have dropped into my inbox today:

'Design Agency Re-Brands Global Roofing Company'
'March's Healthy Hydration Tip from Direct Water Coolers'
'BFI announces two regional partner Mediatheques on anniversary of London launch' (What?!)
'Letter from Sally Gunnell OBE'

Do you think she personally wrote the letter? Does Cheggers really like chips? Who knows. Frankly, who cares.
Not me. If you are from a PR company and are reading this, please stop sending me your guff.
Moan over, this week's paper is already looking promising, which puts me in a much better mood for a weekend of watching football and celebrating my friend's birthday with a meal and a beer or three.

All in a day's work

One of our reporters was subject to some pretty nasty abuse at the magistrates court this morning.
Regrettably, legal constraints prevent me from saying too much, but it was a damn unpleasant attack and shows how a section of the public still rank journalists on a par with traffic wardens, evil dictators and axe murderers in the hate league table.
Even worse, it seems the court ushers took it upon themselves to ask our reporter to "move along", rather than pinpointing the perpetrators of the incident.
The traditional image of the tabloid hack who will sell his or her granny for a scoop does us few favours but, while there are a few reporters out there with that attitude, most of us are lovely really.
Honest.

A tough day

There is no better feeling as a journalist than the buzz of breaking news.
But it can be bloody hard work too.
As you will see from this week's paper, a lot has happened in the past seven days in Crawley, most of it pretty unsavoury.
For most of today, our reporting team has been focussed on the awful stabbing attack which has left a 16-year-old lad fighting for life in hospital.
Knife crime is the big issue at the moment and, sure enough, the national and local media turned out in force to cover this horrific case.
Hoepfully, as you read this, the young lad is on his way to making a full recovery in hospital.
But it is yet another worrying tale of how weapons, particularly knives, are becoming an all too regular part of youth culture.

Rude health

Yesterday I met with the communications officer from East Surrey Hospital.
Regular readers of the Crawley News will know East Surrey hasn't exactly had a good press recently - and why would it, its performance has been appalling in recent times.
Take a look at the homepage of our website and you will see a stinging attack from Francis Maude MP, about the current state of the hospital.
The communications officer assured me that things are on the up. The formerly cash-strapped hospital is set to break-even this year and is on target to get a better rating in the annual health check report.
Hard work is clearly going on behind the scenes but there is more to do if this hospital is to climb off its sick bed and convince patients it is on the up.
Judging by Mr Maude's comments - politically motivated or not - he is going to take even more convincing.

Meet the team

I'm only now getting used to this blogging lark and, frankly, most days I'm still struggling to know what to write about.
The Crawley News is a broad church, so I've decided to to open the doors of the church and let a few other people stand at the lectern.
In other words, from now on, you will hear a bit from me on here, but you'll also be able to read the views and spoutings of a few other members of the News team.
As a taster of things to come, below you can see Kirsty Rigg's view on railway ticket wardens, Alex Morrison's take on the Crawley play centre debate and Michael Connellan's opinion on Crawley Town manager Steve Evans.

It's just not Fare!

AS I pulled into Crawley train station this morning, I saw an irritated flock of commuters trying to climb over each other at the station exit.
I wondered what might be going on – is there a casualty? Has something terrible happened? No - Ticket checks.
I rolled my eyes inherently as I prepared for yet another long wait while not one, not two, but THREE members of staff eyeball my ticket to make sure I’m not pulling a fast one. By the time they have finished with me, I’m not only late for work, but I actually start to feel like I might have done something wrong. I think it would be fair to say I am scared of the train people, like I was scared of my big mean maths teacher who would glare at me in detention because I hadn’t cleaned the tables properly.
I don’t think I’d dream of fare dodging with these guys around. I’m sure if I had, no amount of eyelash fluttering would help, they mean business.
In their defence, people do fare dodge, and the guys are just doing their job.
But seriously, in rush hour when there are hundreds of us commuters, these “checks” are taking 10-15 crucial minutes out of our ‘rush to work’ time.
There are so many of us, blocking up the small doorway like impacted hairs into a plughole. By the end of it we are irritated, late, and thinking about getting the bus home.
Surely if there were more nice train men ON the train itself, like they should be, none of this madness would occur?

Kirsty Rigg - Reporter

Play centres row

The argument over the closing of two play centres and two after school clubs looks set to dominate May's local elections. Crawley's Conservative-run council says they are underused and so don't justify the cost. Opposition councillors as well as hundreds of angry parents say the Tories are cutting vital services in the quest to save cash.

Many stories we report have a fairly obvious right and wrong but this one is more complicated. If the centres are underused, maybe the council is right to divert the £185,000 cost of running them to other services. Unfortunately, the people hurt by this decision will be parents and kids and many of them might rely heavily on the centres.

Labour leader brenda Smith makes one very good point in today's News - she says the benefit to so-called "latch key kids" may be worth more than the cost of running the centres. Giving vulnerable children a place to go where they can learn and socialse may be worth a huge amount in the long term.

I'm afraid I can't make a clear decision either way on this one. Hopefully the poll on our website will reveal what Crawley people think of the possible closures...

Unsatisfied Customer

I said our front page this week might divide opinion, but I wasn't expecting such instant derision:

"What a crap front page from a top local newspaper, and this is not a wind-up. What with all the news that has happened this week that effects the people of this area you lead with a civil dispute that headlined "smooth criminal".

One reader clearly didn't enjoy our front page when tucking into his Coco Pops this morning...

Let me entertain you

Someone in the newsroom asked me a good question earlier – what makes a really good front page story?
Many people, as I’ve explored in previous blog postings, believe local papers are there to educate and inform – entertainment isn’t our business.
Others would dispute this, including my first editor. He used to apply the ‘down the pub test’ as his barometer, the theory being a good story is one that gets people talking over their pints and peanuts down the boozer on a Friday night.
For what it’s worth I fall somewhere between the two, but believe the best stories are often those that involve a ‘human’ element – everyday stories and about people’s everyday lives.
This week’s likely front page won’t win any awards for groundbreaking investigative journalism, nor does it tackle a pressing, major issue.
But it certainly passes the ‘down the pub test’.

Easter

Why on earth does Easter fall so early this year?
I've asked several people this question and so far the answers have ranged from "it's something to do with the moon", to "Glenn, it just does."
When I was at school, Easter always meant mid to end of April - this year we get to tuck into our eggs before the clocks change.
If you could help me out on this one, feel free to get in touch.

Deadline Day

Almost time to wrap up another edition of the paper. It's looking pretty good this week, a decent mix of stories - some very serious issues, some not so serious.

This afternoon, for example, we were treated to the sight of a free magic show in the office. No sign of the lovely Debbie McGee I'm afraid but good fun and a good, entertaining story for this week's paper.

We've also conducted what I think is a interesting experiment, to get people's views on their home town. Do you think Crawley is cool or "uncouth"? Find out what others reckon on Wednesday.

Finally, just to abuse my position slightly, I'd like to say a big hello to all the Chelsea fans out there.

I think you will all agree, the best team won on Sunday.

The running man

A pretty misleading title really. The 'non' running man would be more appropriate.
Foolishly perhaps, I put my name forward for July's 10k run in aid of St Catherine's Hospice.
It is a great cause and I'm actually quite looking forward to the day - it's just the six months of hell leading up to it that is proving tricky.
An athlete I aint. Well, I'm okay at racket sports, can play a passable round of golf and play a mean forward defensive. I also once threw a 180 at darts (does that count as a sport?)
Running is my big problem. It bores me, frankly, plus I run like an elephant on acid - all flat feet and flailng arms.
10k is a bloody long way too you know - much further than I thought.
As it stands, I'm just about to leave the office to go for a run, before watching the mighty Spurs hopefully cruise through to the next round of the Uefa Cup.
Or maybe I'll just eat a lot of food instead.

Casting The Net

THE website has been up and running for a full week now but this is the day we are expecting an increase in the amount of traffic, as the techno types like to call it.

This is because we made a pretty bold effort at plugging the website in this week's paper, as those of you who have seen it today will no doubt have noticed.

Feedback is going to be vital to us. We want to hear from as many of you as possible. What do you think of the site? What do you like about it? What can be improved?

Please send your comments, suggestions, heck even insults if you like, to editor@crawleynews.co.uk

I'll do my best to respond to as many as I possibly can. If my blasted computer starts working properly that is.

Tomorrow's Paper

Another week wrapped up for us.
With all the excitement of a new website to contend with it would have been easy to forget there was the small matter of a newspaper to put out.
Despite a few staffing issues and some computer glitches, the troops have pulled through and I'm pretty happy with tomorrow's edition.
Usually, for well established reasons, the front page of a newspaper tends to revolve around a negative issue, often crime. But every now and again, it's nice to do something a bit different with the splash.
Without giving much away, it's pretty safe to say we've done that this week......

Heart-less?

I really don't get Valentine's Day
To me, it just seems like an excuse for card companies, florists and other retailers flagging after the festive season to make a few quid in that void between Christmas and Easter.
Sucker that I am, I succumbed and got my other half a card. Thankfully she stands on the right side of high maintenance and shares my apathetic attitude towards the day of love.
I can go for a romantic meal any time of the year. Why would I want to go on a night when all the restaurants are packed and everything costs twice as much?
I can shower my loved one with gifts and flowers whenever I want to - why should I do it on a day when I'm going to have to pay through the nose for the pleasure?
Last night I, to my mind, spent a perfect Valentine's Day - drinking wine and watching football.
That said, we have a lovely Valentine-related story in next week's paper that warmed even my cynical old heartstrings.
Read next Wednesday's News to see if it does the same to you.

Broadly Speaking

I went along to the town hall last night, for a meeting of the council's "media scrutiny panel".

Beforehand I was a bit suspicious about the whole thing - had we and our rival newspaper in the town just been invited along for a couple of hours of bear bating?

In the end, it proved to be a worthwhile and pretty constructive meeting, though one suggestion from the panel particularly threw me - that the Crawley News should 'go broadsheet' to avoid a 'sensationalist' tone.

I'm not convinced that a broadsheet paper is what the people of Crawley want, particularly at a time when both the national and regional trend is to go tabloid.

Besides, as reporter Alex Morrison quite rightly pointed out, how would you get a broadsheet through the door?

Welcome

Hello everyone. Welcome to the brand new Crawley News website.

It has been a long time in the making but we are now ready to launch the town's new number one source for breaking news.

Whether you are in Beijing or Brussels, Stuttgart or Sydney, Rochdale or Rio De Janerio, you will be able to access the latest news from Crawley at the click of a mouse.

We want this to be a website that Crawley can be truly proud of. We will feature the very latest news from your neighbourhood, tell your stories and invite your comments on the big issues facing the town.

There will be the latest from the town's schools, previews of new shows at The Hawth and all the news from Crawley Town FC.

This blog will also be updated daily by the News team, who will bring you the latest from the newsroom and put forward their musings about life in Crawley.

Please take a look at the site today and let us know what you think. If your workplace has a strict internet user policy, what the heck, just log on anyway....

As I say, I want this to be a site the town can be truly proud of.

Enjoy...

Glenn Ebrey
Content Editor