Rhys Griffiths – local news man

Rhys Griffiths grew up in Folkestone.  After primary and secondary school in town, he moved away for university but returned to continue his connection with East Kent.  Training as a news reporter, he has worked across local papers and later in the sports and music industries.  After a short spell at Saga, qualifying as a true local, he spent five years writing for KentOnline. Now, he has set up the Folkestone Dispatch, a local, independent news service reporting on Folkestone and the surrounding area. Folkelife met with Rhys, our local news man, to find out more about his service.

“When I started out in the local press, both Folkestone and Dover had two newspaper offices of competing titles.  That was pretty common, but the industry has gone through an awful lot of upheaval due to changes in readership behaviour, the switch from print to digital and companies like Facebook and Google swallowing up advertising spend. Things have changed a great deal.  But ultimately, people do want to know what’s going on locally and that hasn’t changed. 

“I had left my job at KentOnline and was wondering what to do next.  I’d seen others elsewhere in the country set up independent publications based around a newsletter strategy.  Here, people can receive your work directly to their mailbox.  I thought it was a good opportunity to give it a go.  I am incredibly passionate about Folkestone, and I think the community that has evolved over the last 20 years has grown a real vibrant spirit.  We also have a lot of people who are relocating to Folkestone, and it’s really important to have local journalism reflecting Folkestone as it is today, in all its diversity. Initially, I thought I could do this for six months and see how it fared; I’ve been going for more than a year now and it’s still growing.”

the editor

“The Folkestone Dispatch is just me, a one man band.  That does give me incredible freedom; I choose what I write about. But, having such freedom does come with the responsibility to represent stories fairly.  Folkestone is my home town, and I feel I have a good sense of judgement on the important stories for the town. 

“The Dispatch is entirely funded by small reader contributions – paid subscribers.  I don’t chase sensationalist headlines, and because each edition comes out once a week, I don’t do ‘breaking news’.  I’m not necessarily looking to be the first with a story, or to simply get loads of clicks.  Obviously, I do want as many people as possible to read my work, but not because of a clickbait headline with nothing behind it. I want subscribers to know that the quality is consistent, so they’ll come back to me as a trusted source of news about our town, and hopefully consider becoming a paid supporter of the Dispatch.”

building a reputation

“Some people, who follow a lot of news, may recognise me from my time writing for KentOnline and the Folkestone & Hythe Express.  It’s good to have a reputation for reliable journalism, without it no reporter can hope to succeed.  In order for the Folkestone Dispatch to survive, it needs to be built on trust and integrity.  Especially now, in the age of AI, and people getting their news from social media, it’s good to be known in town for my work.  I don’t want that to sound big headed at all.  In times gone by you would know the local reporter because you would see them about town.  And this is what I can still do today. I don’t want to be stuck behind a laptop screen all day, getting out and about and meeting people face-to-face is so important. 

“I have been shortlisted for a Kent Voices Award at this year’s Kent Press and Broadcast Awards, which are happening in a few weeks’ time.  This is a category that is community focused, and recognises those journalists helping to tell stories about groups who may traditionally be under-represented in the media. For example, I’ve been to meet the guys at Folkestone Mosque and to talk to them about the issues they’re facing.  They were having an open day as part of a national campaign called Visit My Mosque.  It was a good opportunity to tell their story and explore some of the issues they’re facing, for example with rising Islamophobia.  The mosque is tucked away, and maybe people aren’t aware of where it is and what it does. It’s important to bring these stories out.”

community reporting

“I also wrote an interview with the Director of Folkestone Pride.  Pride can often be a story the media treats as simply a party, a chance for people to have fun. That’s part of it, but I wanted to talk about the fact that Pride is still important as a protest. LGBTQ+ people within our community still need allyship from others, and this story was a small way to help amplify that message. 

“It’s easy to write pieces that I find interesting, but by having an engaged subscriber list I can survey readers when they sign up to find out what their interests are. It’s important to me that I am writing about matters that are of interest to people living in Folkestone.  I want to thank those subscribers too, for understanding my vision for the Dispatch and backing it.  The Folkestone Dispatch simply wouldn’t be possible without them.”

expansion

“There is a weekly edition at the moment, but I am considering spinning off further weekly newsletters on different topics.  Culture and food and drink are all subjects that are close to the heart of Folkestone.  I would also like to focus on grassroots sports as well.  There’s a lot going on in Folkestone on the sports front.  Journalism can’t be cheerleading all the time, but I want to shine a light on everything that’s happening locally and show Folkestone in all its multifaceted nature. 

“I appreciate that there are many calls on people’s money, but if you can afford £5 a month subscription, then it really helps make this work possible.  Unfortunately, quality journalism doesn’t happen for free, and the truth is many people have got out of the habit of paying for it. I don’t carry adverts, I don’t have any corporate backers, but I try to offer proper journalism that people feel is worth a small contribution each month.  Every new supporter makes the future of the Dispatch look more secure.”

You can sign up to receive the Dispatch for free here.