14
Sept
Help us spread the news on the Stray Ferret
We often get asked where we get all our news information from. Do we get press releases? Do we trawl through public data? Where does it all come from?
The answer in large part is from you, our readers. You call us and send us emails with all sorts of valuable information. The tip-offs, pictures, story ideas and requests for us to investigate, play a huge role in the Stray Ferret – it is what we are here for and we are extremely grateful for your involvement.
Whilst journalists are trained to process information accurately and legally, literally anyone can spot a story or an issue that is news worthy.
Here are a few examples of the range and depth of issues and enquiries you have recently been in touch about:
Reader Neil Crabtree contacted us after he had found out that traffic disruption near him was being caused by a Harrogate Spring Water pipeline project. He also sent us responses to a Freedom of Information he’d requested from North Yorkshire Council on the work. His information enabled us to write a story about the impact the pipeline construction was having and a get a response from Harrogate Spring Water. We are now in regular contact with Neil on the issue.
On a very different note, last week reader Anne Smith got in touch after a dramatic thunder storm in Pannal to say that she’d had a very lucky escape from being struck by lightning. Newsworthy? We thought so..it was a very close call. You can read her story here.
Claire Lewis got in touch to tell us she had been forced to forgo her salary for a month because of roadworks on the Skipton road for the new Tesco. Claire runs the Number One Shop on Electric Avenue which was blocked off to traffic, so she hadn’t had enough customers to pay staff and herself. Our reporter Robert visited the store to interview her.
We are here for local people like Neil, Anne and Claire. Making yourself heard to a wider audience makes everyone more aware of what is happening locally and can make organisations think again about the impact of their work. Tescos did apologise to Claire after we got in touch with them.
This week Yorkshire Water postponed more work in Harrogate after residents and businesses alike all complained publicly on the Stray Ferret about the untenable number of roadworks currently in the town.
Please never been afraid to get in touch and have your voice heard by a wider audience. You will be read by the people in North Yorkshire who are making decisions that affect our lives and who need to know the impact of those decisions on us residents.
If you are one of our many subscribers, thank you - we depend on you. If you are not a subscriber then please consider being one. It costs less than 14p a day. You never know when you'll need us! Every subscription is used to employ journalists.
Have you got something you wish us to look into? You can email us on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk or you can call the newsroom on 01423 276197.
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