Posts Tagged
journalism

Colchester Connected

It’s been a while since I’ve had to approve a magazine for press, but I’m extremely glad to say that the first ever issue of Colchester Connected is being printed right now.

The mag is a great example of what happens when people unite behind an idea. Only three months ago I got an email from Palladian Press’s Sales and Marketing Director Steve Green. He wrote:

Hi Ben,
I want to publish a quarterly magazine called “Colchester Connected”.
10,000 copies, A4, full colour, 64pps, high quality, good read.

A few days later, I wrote a promotional flyer for Steve, just to help gauge interest in the idea. It didn’t take long to realise that there was an enormous demand for a publication that was specifically targeted at Colchester’s business community, and which had an emphasis on collaboration and fresh ideas.

The only fly in the ointment was that the magazine needed to be put together on a shoestring if we were to prove its mettle. But so many people chipped in to help that the project was soon sailing on an ocean of goodwill. My contribution was to write or edit all the features free of charge.

It was a massive task, especially as the only adverts were on the back and inside covers. That left a lot of pages to fill with editorial.

We had a good way of working. Local companies would pay for a high-quality feature, and Publishing Director Linda Green would drop by and conduct an interview with her customary charm and finesse. I’d then shape her notes into an article (whilst rocking, in the final fortnight, a newborn’s cradle with my foot) and the finished work would then be sent back to the customer for approval and signing off. They were all delighted.

Editorial wasn’t restricted to local companies, though; and we also included pieces about the Essex Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses, Colchester2020 and other people with an important message for the local business community.

The magazine is launched on 23rd January at the Weston Homes Community Stadium in Colchester, and over 250 people have already confirmed they are coming along. I’ll do a write up after the event, and I’ll also add full details about the project to the North Meadow portfolio pages in due course.

I hope Colchester Connected is hugely successful — and that Issue 2 is an even better read — but the most rewarding part for me has been to learn about the ideas and determination of a cross-section of the local businesspeople. It would be unfair to point out which ones really captured my imagination — especially as, in a garrison town like Colchester, many of them are trained killers — but I’m very much looking forward to meeting every single one.

Posted by: Ben Locker
Published: 15th January, 2009 at 2:57 pm in Blog, News.
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Come Take My Hand

The Hackney Citizen has just started to publish some of its content online, which will be a great way for it to pick up new readers. The Winter 2008 issue features an article by North Meadow Media’s Ben Locker, and it’s available in full here. It’s very different from his commercial work, so hats off to the newspaper for publishing something so unusual.

Posted by: Ben Locker
Published: 12th December, 2008 at 12:10 pm in North Meadow Projects.
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Shedding Convention

Journalist Alex Johnson has a thing about sheds. So much so that, on any given day, you’re likely to find him sitting in his shed, writing about sheds for the benefit of people who, er, work in sheds. It’s an obsession, but the thing is – even if you think you’re indifferent to the small buildings in your back garden – you’re almost certain to find Alex’s blog Shedworking a lively and compelling read. And even if you don’t, he’s staked out a bit of the web that’s devoted to bookshelves, so there’s no excuse not to take a look at his stuff.

North Meadow Media’s Ben Locker asks Alex whether a life spent in sheds has the foundations for a successful career.

Alex Johnson and the world of shedworking

Why a shed? Why not a tree house, an Anderson shelter, a loft conversion or another space in or near your home?
To be a shedworker you have to have a garden office, and in that respect I’d argue that a tree house and Anderson shelter are ’sheds’ – I regard ’shed’ as a flexible concept rather than a concrete architecturality (i.e. if you think it’s a shed, then it’s a shed). While shedworking bears strong comparison to loftroomworking, spareroomworking and kitchentableworking, there are some key advantages:

  • physically, it’s easier to prevent – or at least restrict – your children, spouses and pets invading your work space if you’re based in a garden office (although admittedly I get more bees in here than I did when I worked in the dining room).
  • there’s no need to double up on spaces. With a shed, your third bedroom remains modem free and your dining room table is not deluged by paper.
  • a shed keeps you away from the fridge so the temptation to nibble and grow obese is more remote
  • financially, it adds value to your property: up to 5% according to some reports,
  • it’s also a great place to meet clients. I’ve had several meetings in my garden office and every single visitor has been at the very least intrigued by the arrangements and most are positively impressed.
  • psychologically, shedworking marks a clear difference between where you live and where you work – there’s no taint of work attached to any part of your home. Instead all the taint is in the shed.

I’d add that shedworking is as much a statement of intent as it is a piece of architecture: John Ruskin argued that our buildings must mean something to their inhabitants, that their spiritual concerns are as important as the material ones. Shedworking is just plain more fun, adding a certain pizzazz to your working life.

Do you miss working in the same room as your colleagues?
No, although I do miss the option of nipping out for a swift half sometimes. I spend time with people I actually like now rather than those whose paths accidentally intersect with mine

(more…)

Posted by: Ben Locker
Published: 18th November, 2008 at 3:32 pm in Blog, The North Meadow Interview.
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First Impressions

Palladian Press rightly takes its place in the front rank of East Anglia’s printing firms. Established in 1995, the Colchester printer has since won a place in the prestigious Printweek 500 and carved out an enviable reputation as a company that puts quality and its customers first. North Meadow Media’s Barry Lowenhoff and Ben Locker collaborated to produce the first two issues of its industry-leading newsletter, Palladian Impressions.

Both issues contain a lively mix of news, interviews, staff profiles and features. Ben Locker was responsible for the research and writing, which gave him the chance to speak to a broad cross section of Palladian’s clients and explore their relationship with the printing firm. Final articles put the following companies, organisations and individuals in the spotlight:

Barry Lowenhoff acted as art director, working closely with Harland Payne Photography, and was responsible for designing the two publications. His creative vision sends out a clear message that Palladian is an up-and-coming company, fizzing with all the ideas and energy that are the hallmarks of the print industry’s biggest hitters.

Palladian Impressions was very well received by the firm’s clients, and it doubles up as excellent marketing material. To download copies and read testimonials, visit the Palladian Press website.

Posted by: North Meadow Media
Published: 14th November, 2008 at 1:03 pm in North Meadow Projects.
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Goy Next Door

In October 2008, community newspaper The Hackney Citizen published a thought-provoking article by North Meadow media’s Ben Locker and Orthodox Jewish blogger ‘The Shaigetz’. The piece, which takes a fond and wry look at what it is like to be a gentile – or goy – living amongst the world’s third largest Orthodox community, is given added sharpness and balance by The Shaigetz’s perspective from within ‘the square mile of piety’.

The Hackney Citizen’s editor, Keith Magnum, was delighted with the response the article generated. As he said after publication: “The responses I’ve been have been… things like ‘amazing’, ’sensitive handling of some difficult issues’, ‘brave’”.

The full article is reproduced below:

The Goy Next Door

I made my home in the heart of Stamford Hill in 1999 becoming, as I put my foot on the property ladder, goy next door to Europe’s largest settlement of Orthodox Jews. Over the years, I’ve observed the observant in this ‘square mile of piety’ and relished those moments where our lives collide.

It always made me nervous, as a kid, when new neighbours moved in, especially if it was goyim. You never knew in advance what threat they might bring. Would they have kids who would shout ‘Jew Bug’ when we came home from school? Worse, would they have a dog? (more…)

Posted by: Ben Locker
Published: 12th November, 2008 at 12:59 pm in North Meadow Projects.
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