A NEW online Scottish newspaper has launched focusing on citizen journalism and giving a voice to local people.
Bylines Scotland is the latest publication to come from the Bylines Network, which has eight regional English titles up and running already.
On Monday, the Scottish offering went live and already has articles on the housing crisis, shipyard building and abortion rights available to read, with the publication taking on the logo of a thistle to accompany the brand.
It is politically and editorially independent but still “progressive and internationalist”, the Bylines Scotland website explains.
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The publication appears to take a neutral stance on indyref2, as their website states: “As a citizen journalism publication we reflect the views of our writers; when it comes to the debate around Scottish independence and indyref2, we respect the fact that these views will vary considerably.”
Editor-in-chief Ian Kinsey said of the launch: “Over five million people call Scotland home – including millions of voices looking for a way to communicate their ideas, or a soapbox to stand on and voice their hopes and desires for themselves, their families, communities and country.
“They, the people of Scotland, must be heard and, above all, listened to.”
Kinsey added that the newspaper will be “that soapbox and give audience to your voice”.
He added: “Our writers will represent all colours of the socio-political spectrum. We are diverse, we celebrate Scotland, but we also will be shedding light on injustice, inequality and deprivations within our country.
“In a vibrant democracy, power must be held to account from the local levels to the national levels and the citizen voices of Bylines Scotland are needed to do that.”
Kinsey later added: “Bylines Scotland will adhere to a prime directive: print only what we can verify and can defend in a court of law and the court of public opinion.”
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Bylines Scotland said they are hoping for contributions with differing views to “encourage debate”, but add that all authors on the website are volunteers. Those serving on its editorial board “include people from all parts of Scotland”.
Giving some further information on the type of articles to expect from the website, the about section explains: “Our content is always relevant to Scotland, whether from a national, or international perspective.
“We cover special interest stories from about Scotland to retain a strong local connection, but we include content of potential interest to readers from further afield to widen our audience.”
The Bylines network currently has eight titles south of the border: Central Bylines, East Anglia Bylines, Kent Bylines, North East Bylines, North West Bylines, Sussex Bylines, West England Bylines and Yorkshire Bylines.
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