Cardiff University to set up community journalism centre

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Cardiff University's School of Journalism is to set up a new centre for community journalism which will aim to equip those working on hyperlocal outlets with the skills and support to maintain such projects.

The school last week appointed a manager for the new centre, who will begin work on setting up the training centre in late June, early July.

The aim of the centre will be to bring together journalism staff and students with members of the public interested in working in community journalism and those running hyperlocal news websites.

Head of the Cardiff School of Journalism Professor Justin Lewis added that the centre will aim to play an enabling role to "train, support and develop community journalists".

Professor of Journalism Studies Bob Franklin also told Journalism.co.uk it is important for communities "to have a public space" where they can come together and discuss issues of local importance, particularly in the face of local newspaper closures.

"When you lose a local paper it's like losing a local pub. When the pub closes a little bit of the village dies. It's the same as a local paper."

The centre will aim to provide support to the local community to facilitate the development of hyperlocal outlets and help them to be self-sustaining, he added.

It will also aim to bring people up-to-date on legal issues and the importance of fact checking processes.