Something good has arrived for Lincoln

We said something good was coming to Lincoln and it’s finally here. LoveLincoln is a good news platform for the Greater Lincoln area, built to promote the best of living, working, visiting and raising a family here.

The transition from print to digital changed the news industry, it’s no longer just the front page that has to sell the paper. Now every single story has to shout in order to get clicked, because traffic has become the only metric that publishers with shareholders care about.

What that produces is clickbait, spam and negative stories designed to drive views for ad spend. It’s terrible for the community it’s supposed to be serving, and demoralises an entire region through the constant perpetuation of negativity.

BBC Look North covers the launch of Lincolnista, 2009. Footage: BBC

I’ve spent fifteen years working in that industry and I think there’s a better way.

I launched Lincolnista in 2009 to support tourism in the city after funding was pulled and the tourist information centres closed. I grew The Lincolnite to its peak. I showcased local businesses through the Lincolnshire Business digital publication and brought them together at the Lincolnshire Business Expo.

I launched CityX, along with the Directors’ Conference, the Tech Expo and the Lincolnshire Tech & Innovation Awards, and helped create the only virtual Lincolnshire Agricultural Show in the event’s 140 year history. After Covid I started CityTribe to highlight how little support existed for young professionals wanting to stay and build careers in Lincoln.

What makes now important? The local government reorganisation is creating a new Lincoln City unitary authority, roughly doubling the population it represents to around 224,000 people and significantly expanding the footprint the council will oversee.

A new era for the city needs something new alongside it, and LoveLincoln will cover the whole of that new Greater Lincoln area and its surroundings.

When we said something good was coming, we meant it literally. LoveLincoln will become the front page of the city, to promote Greater Lincoln, not sensationalise it.

Launching a good news platform isn’t an attempt to pretend bad news doesn’t exist, and it isn’t naivety about the challenges the city faces. It’s recognition that negativity became a business decision rather than an editorial one, and that a balance is needed.

The fantastic independent businesses, the beautiful contrast of city and countryside, the growing student population and the opportunity it gives us to keep future professionals here, and two thousand years of heritage all deserve promotion, and right now they aren’t getting it.

So tell us what we’ve missed. If something good is happening where you live or work, send it to us. Subscribe, and we’ll bring you the best of it; as there's lots of reasons to LoveLincoln.