STV begins pilot roll-out process of STV Local
Today sees the launch of STV’s much anticipated online and mobile news initiative, STV Local.
The network of local news websites will initially be piloted in Airdrie, Bellshill, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Motherwell and Wishaw, before being rolled out across the whole of Scotland later this year and early 2011.
These sites will aims to offer local information to communities, including the latest news from their area, events listings, ratings and reviews, as well as weather updates and traffic information and a business directory.
Also featured will be information on local public bodies, sports organisations, theatre groups, schools, church groups and other community groups.
The team will be headed up by former group digital editor of the Herald and Times Group David Milne and Iain Hepburn, previously digital editor of Daily Record and Sunday Mail.
Regional and community editors are currently being recruited across the country as STV aims to engage with local communities through out Scotland, working with content partners and community contributors to encourage user-generated content, as well as news provided by the STV editorial team.
Alistair Brown, head of digital at STV, said: “This is a brand new, interactive service for local communities in Scotland, which offers a wealth of relevant and easy-to-access content and an opportunity to share information, news and events on a very local level. We’re very excited about the six pilot sites in North Lanarkshire and our community editors have had a great response from businesses and community groups in the area. We will continue to develop and extend the network of sites into town and cities across Scotland, and ultimately we hope that the service will become owned by the local communities themselves.”
STV expect to provide user training for interested contributors during the roll-out process, while the broadcast is also engaging with journalism and media courses to work with student journalists in providing content.
Rob Woodward, chief executive of STV, added: “Earlier this year we launched digital initiative STV Anywhere, as we strive to make our services and content available to our audiences whenever and wherever they want it. STV Local is a great example of this. This new hyper-local initiative is a significant part of STV’s digital strategy, which is a key growth area for the business. STV has a very strong relationship with communities across Scotland. Through STV Local, we are building a digital platform which will inform people and enable them to share, engage and connect with their community.”