Workshop 44 is excited to announce E8 Community Newsmagazine, a collaboration between resident Richard Hunt, and members of Workshop 44. The magazine was founded eight months ago by Richard with the help of Small Works, and now enjoys modest success as a news source with a local touch. Outside of the magazine itself, Richard also maintains an active web presence on Facebook and Twitter, using photography to tell stories and document current events. Below, Richard tells us more about the magazine and its creation.
How did the magazine start?
I started the magazine about eight months ago. I had the idea and approached Workshop 44, which is situated below my flat. I approached Chris Vaughan, who worked in the space at the time, and he put me in touch with a social enterprise called String and Cup, who deliver social media and communication services. We worked together on the idea.
What topics do you write about?
I write about goings on in the community anything that can help local people. This includes information about new restaurants, events, and current affairs. I also share food recipes and tips to help people save money such as where they can get cheap shopping, or if there are any deals happening in the area. My main goal is to help people. If I give information that helps people to save money and stay well informed, it keeps them interested.
You recently posted a tweet about litter that gained the council’s attention- Can you tell us about that?
The council has a free newspaper called ‘Hackney Today’ and on a rainy day I noticed a pile of the papers left on the side of the street getting soaked. I took a picture of it and posted it to Twitter suggesting the council hire better paper distributors. Less than twenty minutes later someone from the council tweeted me back asking where the papers had been left and wanting to help. The distributors weren’t doing their jobs properly and I was able to alert the council to this and get the papers cleared away, which makes the neighbourhood a nicer place.
What has been the hardest part about running the magazine?
The hardest part about running it would be finding the time and finding content. Keeping it flowing can be very challenging- all of this is way out of my field. As a carpenter I didn’t have any journalistic experience before starting the magazine, so it’s been a huge learning curve. Learning where to find news and how to maintaining the day to day running are hugely time consuming, so I’m always looking for people who can help out, either by writing articles or by editing.
And what has been the most rewarding part?
The most rewarding part would be when I receive feedback- when people share articles or comment on blog posts. I had a woman who lives down the road from me approach me earlier this week to tell me her and her husband read the magazine and find it really refreshing. Her husband is a journalist, so the feedback meant a lot.
What makes E8 Community stand out from the rest of the local magazines?
E8 is a magazine that is based on helping people. When I first started writing I didn’t realize how many other magazines there were out there, or what the competition would be. But E8 is not a magazine involved with drinking culture like a lot of the rest. It doesn’t concern itself with nightlife or where to go in Shoreditch. I try to focus on local people and what matters to them, so I hope the magazine has potential to grow. It would be nice one day to take some time off work to really get the project off the ground and even have writers making a wage off of it. Its something I made, and I’d like it to be truly successful one day.
E8 Community is always looking for new writers and editors. To join the team, contact Richard at e8community@gmail.com.