Something good has arrived for Lincoln

We said something good was coming to Lincoln, and here it is. 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 move from print to digital changed the news industry. It's no longer just the front page that has to sell the paper; every story has to shout to get clicked, because for publishers with shareholders, traffic is the only number that counts.

The result is clickbait, spam and negative stories written to drive views for ad spend. It's bad for the community it's meant to serve, and it demoralises a whole region through constant 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 after council 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, 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 there was for young professionals wanting to build a career in Lincoln.

Why now? People have the lowest ever trust in the media. They actively turn news off the TV, don't buy newspapers and maintain a healthy skepticism of most of what they find on social media. It's time to start again, a new era for local media that seeks out good news, not sensationalism.

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.

A good news platform isn't a pretence that bad news doesn't exist, or naivety about the challenges the city faces. It's a recognition that negativity became a business decision rather than an editorial one, and that a balance is needed.

The independent businesses, the contrast of city and countryside, the growing student population and the chance to keep those future professionals here, and two thousand years of heritage all deserve promoting. 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.