Richardwbbest's Blog

Will 1810 reproduction newspaper become a collector’s item?

Published July 14, 2010 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Yesterday’s first real buzz came when the advance copies of our reproduction 1810 edition of the West Briton arrived in my office.

It was in autumn last year that I discovered the bound copies of the first edition languishing in a cupboard in my office. I pretty much straight away decided that a reproduction of this in every copy of the anniversary issue would be a great way to mark 200 years of publishing.

Achieving it was not quite as straightforward as we had hoped. We spent a lot of time trying to get it scanned, but it is so fragile that we couldn’t risk removing it from its binding. And even when we managed to locate a flatbed scanner big enough to accommodate it, much of it remained illegible. So we went back to the drawing board and reset the whole lot. As far as possible we matched fonts. We had to stretch it a little to a broadsheet size to fit on a modern press, and on a few occasions the original was illegible – but that is only the occasional word. I reckon the end result is a remarkable document.

Tomorrow around 40,000 copies of this will be distributed for sale , and I am pretty certain it will become a collector’s item. It’s utterly fascinating. Life was so very different then – as was the role of a newspaper. In the first edition of the West Briton there were stories about what Napoleon was up to, advertisements for ‘Dr Taylor’s anti-spasmodic pills’, shares in Wheal Liberty and other mines for sale and news that the ‘mackarel’ season was drawing to a close…

So that will be folded and inserted into every copy of the paper.

In addition we’ve got some great new contributions. Prince Charles and David Cameron have both written messages, while Cornwall’s Lord Lieutenant Lady Mary Holborow, Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt and DMGT’s chairman Viscount Rothermere have all contributed longer articles.

Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Stephen Otter writes about how policing has changed and the challenges they currently face; Malcolm Bell contributes a piece on the differences – and remarkable similarities – in the tourism industry; we have features on mining, shipping, health, education, and even about how people would have indulged themselves socially in 1810 from our own Lee Trewhela. I won’t write an exhaustive list of what’s on there: it wouldn’t do the content justice, but I am really proud of what we’ve achieved and hope our readers find it as interesting as we have done.

A word of thanks, too, obviously to everybody who has contributed such interesting and varied pieces, but also to all the team here who have been relentlessly receptive and hard-working. Also of course to all our advertisers for their support and perhaps most importantly – for without them their would be no newspaper – to our readers.

Cornwall couldn’t be better placed for the future

I love the period after the election. It becomes all-consuming at the time and culminates, for us, in a 36-hour working extravaganza that’s a mix of trying to turn things around as fast as possible and contemplation of what the new order means to us. The latter had a three-day delay for us this time, of course, but the coalition is in itself tremendously exciting. And then the dust settles and we can start to anticipate what the future may hold.

I believe Cornwall has everything to gain from the result in this election, although of course the timing is lousy.

Cuts to public spending are no great surprise and would, despite what some would have us believe, have come regardless of who formed the government. The priorities might have been different, but I think it is fair to say that most people felt we were in desperate need of a change in direction. And I say this regardless of individuals’ party political leanings: I’d be surprised if numerous card-carrying members of the Labour Party (and MPs) hadn’t been feeling that the administration had run out of steam and lost its way ideologically in recent times.

Cornwall now has an equal numbers of Conservative and Lib-Dem MPs, reflecting perfectly the coalition – and so it is fair to say that now we are well represented in both parties in government.

The lack of representation in government has, I believe, historically meant we have been unable to punch our weight in Westminster. Counties like ours have traditionally done badly in spending settlements and you only have to tour the country to see the impact this can have. I have been struck when visiting some Labour heartland areas by just how much investment there has been – when 15 years ago they were pretty shabby and grey. Has anybody been to Manchester recently? Newcastle? They have been transformed and are incredibly vibrant and exciting places.

Of course the slow climb out of recession will mean that there won’t be loads of money to throw around in the early stages of this government. But as long as the two parties can make it work we should be in prime position when things look up. Cornwall has done well and changed in many positive ways. It remains, of course, the best place to live in the UK – as we all know. But what happens when convergence funding dries up is absolutely crucial for Cornwall – it is imperative that we are well placed and that investment has been well targeted as this will impact heavily on the next couple of generations at least.

Cornwall used to be at the forefront of mining research and development, when that industry drove many countries’ economies, and this could be paralleled today with R&D into the technology behind sustainable energy – for example. And I know from conversations with some of our MPs – and Cornwall Council’s chief executive Kevin Lavery – that they are all thoroughly committed to positioning us in this way.

One of the things that amuses me during an election is the accusations from some quarters that we are not being politically fair and balanced. It has been my mantra for years now that I only know that I have done my job properly when everybody has complained in equal measure about our impartiality. Actually, I haven’t heard from each of the candidates although I have heard supporters on every side saying they thought their candidate was not featured often/highly enough. If you remember we asked each of the candidates one question a week in the run-up to the election. One of them complained to me that the order in which we ran them, from left to right across the page, was unfair and gave them a disadvantage … Rarely am I lost for words.

Another claim I hear from time to time is that we have a particular view because we belong to Northcliffe Media. That is a rumour I would like to nail for once and for all: in my four, nearly five years as an editor I have never once received any editorial directive whatsoever from the group, nor indeed even from the managing director of the local company. Northcliffe’s philosophy has always been to hire local editors and to allow them to edit locally, and that is what happens. So if you think I’m getting it wrong, it is entirely my fault.

I would genuinely like to hear from you whether you think we’re getting it right, wrong or somewhere in the middle. The old adage that you can’t please all the people all the time is true, but I am keen to engage and always happy to explain the reasoning behind decisions. Leave me a comment – I will be happy to reply. Or you can mail me at rbest@c-dm.co.uk

I hope to hear from you soon.