Cornwall Reports is a member of IMPRESS, the independent media regulator, and subscribes to both the IMPRESS Code of Conduct and Complaints Procedure

Making a complaint

We can look into complaints about items we have published which are in our control.  We adhere to the Standards Code adopted by IMPRESS and can only deal with complaints which relate to an alleged breach of the standards set out in this Code. http://www.impress.press/standards/.

We can only deal with your complaint if you are:

  • personally and directly affected by an alleged breach of the Code
  • a representative group affected by an alleged breach of the Code, where there is public interest in your complaint
  • a third party seeking to ensure accuracy of published information

We are also regulated by IMPRESS, but initial complaints must be made to Cornwall Reports in writing at the following address: 

e-mail: complaints@cornwallreports.co.uk.

Telephone:     07836 719384                                 

Address:  West End, Station Road, St Mabyn, BODMIN, Cornwall, PL30 3BN

We will acknowledge your complaint by e-mail or in writing within 7 calendar days and will normally respond to your compliant with a final decision letter within 21 calendar days.   If we uphold your complaint, we will tell you the remedial actions we have taken.

If you are not satisfied with the final response to your complaint, or if you do not hear from us within 21 calendar days of submitting your complaint, then you can refer your complaint to our Independent regulator IMPRESS at the following address:

16-18 New Bridge Street

London

EC4V 6AG  T +44 (0)20 3325 4288

E info@impress.press

Back to the future

Cornwall Reports is a project to reinvent journalism.  It is part of a mission to re-establish the primacy of rationalism and objective facts, using technology to finance the gathering and dissemination of news.  Like the pamphleteers of the 17th and 18th centuries, Cornwall Reports seeks to make a fundamental contribution to democracy.

The premise is that as technology lowers production costs, so the value of media reduces, finally, to that of its content alone.  The ambition of Cornwall Reports is to eventually produce content which is financed entirely by its consumers.  In short, you will pay for only what you read, without the hidden costs of adverts, pop-ups, surveys and clickbait. Cornwall Reports is just journalism, pure and simple.

In the 21st century, the Cornwall Reports project will have to challenge the might of global publishing giants such as Facebook and Google – which today effectively act as gatekeepers to almost every digital word read online.  Cornwall Reports must therefore fight an asymmetrical war in which size alone does not matter.

The business plan calls for Cornwall Reports to build a brand identity free of advertising (the growing prevalence of ad-blocking software already poses a severe threat to conventional online news media) and ultimately to make its content invisible to search engines.

Cornwall Reports becomes viable as an ad-free online newspaper once it has 1,000 subscribers.  The sooner that day comes, the better – we estimate about one year.  If you would be willing to be among the founding subscribers, and would like to take advantage of the rewards that includes, then please email theboss@cornwallreports.co.uk and we will get in touch.

 

 

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Cornwall Reports - Frequently Asked Questions:

I’m Graham Smith, a journalist since 1976 and based in St Mabyn since 1980. I have worked for many local news organisations in my career. I am now the founder of the Cornwall Reports local news website.

1. Why should I pay for Cornwall Reports, when similar content is available for free on other websites?
If you can find similar content for free on other websites, and you are prepared to trust its accuracy, then good luck to you. Cornwall Reports aims to report a broad range of news, some of which may well be on other sites, but Cornwall Reports also specialises in breaking important exclusives. Other media, which simply copy-and-paste this information into their own websites, are taking a big risk and will always be hours (or days) behind. If you want to know what is really going on in Cornwall, Cornwall Reports is the only place to be.
2. Why are there no adverts?
Traditional newspapers and websites, which rely on advertising revenue, are necessarily cautious about jeopardising that income and this can sometimes influence their editorial approach. Google and Facebook today act as “gate-keepers” to almost every digital word. Cornwall Reports relies entirely on its readers for its income.
3. How is Cornwall Reports “owned” by its readers?
If readers stop paying for Cornwall Reports, the business goes bust. It’s as simple as that – the 

User comments

 

readers are in charge. No readers = no Cornwall Reports. The specific business model is still (January 2017) under consideration, pending further discussions with consultants and regulators, but Cornwall Reports is intended to be a not-for-profit social enterprise – most likely a Community Interest Company, although registration as some sort of charity is also a possibility. At the moment Cornwall Reports is owned by a normal limited company, Ragged Trouser Productions Ltd, which is responsible for all legal issues.  Ragged Trouser Productions Ltd is a Cornwall-based company with a 10-year trading history. Conversion to a CIC (or similar) will take place as soon as possible once there is a clear indication of how many people are reading Cornwall Reports. The minimum target is 1,000 readers after one year. Cornwall Reports will always hold regular, open meetings, to engage directly with readers. Annual subscribers could become members of an editorial advisory group. Accounts will be published on this website.

4.  Does Cornwall Reports pay for its content?
Yes. Contributors who are members of the National Union of Journalists will be paid at least the recommended NUJ rate. Other contributors will be paid an agreed fee and encouraged to join the NUJ.

5. If Cornwall Reports is such a good idea, why hasn’t it been done before?
There are several reasons, but mainly: (i) Most of 

Cornwall’s local newspapers are under greater pressure than ever before, following their takeover by a national group. Local BBC and commercial broadcasting outposts are also facing huge cuts. The need for an alternative, reliable voice is now urgent. (ii) Most people in Cornwall now have access to the internet. (iii) There is a growing acceptance that goods and services can be purchased online. These factors now combine to create a market in which Cornwall Reports stands a good chance, if readers want it.
6. I think I’ve heard of Cornwall Reports before. Is this possible?
In 1983 I started trading as a freelance journalist in Cornwall. Between 1985 and 2001 the business was a partnership known as Cornwall Reports. That business ceased trading as Cornwall Reports in 2001 when I joined the staff of ITV Westcountry as Head of Current Affairs.
7. What about politics? Is Cornwall Reports biased?
Every journalist has political opinions – sometimes those opinions are mutually contradictory - and it is misleading to pretend otherwise. I have been a member of the Labour Party for nearly 40 years, but never a particularly loyal one. I have interviewed every British Prime Minister since Harold Wilson, and the only one I actually disliked was Tony Blair. I think I felt that even he didn’t really believe what he was saying. In the 1970s the Czech dissident Zdenek Urbánek said this: "In one respect, we are more fortunate than you in the West. We believe nothing of what we read in the newspapers and watch on television, nothing of the official truth. Unlike you, we have learned to read between the lines, because real truth is always subversive." Cornwall Reports will always strive to tell the truth, and to promote the public interest, and will immediately correct any inaccuracies. But I cannot pretend that any single source of information can ever provide the whole picture.

A note to colleagues

Cornwall Reports can provide a comprehensive service to other media professionals.

Equipped with broadcast-quality TV news camera and Final Cut Pro video editing, audio recording and editing, as well as conventional press cameras and notebooks, no job is too big or too small.

Our high-speed broadband allows us to transmit large files in a variety of formats.

Prices on application but usually happy to negotiate a shift-rate if required.

All of the material on this website (not including links to third-party sites) is protected by copyright. 

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 Nothing may be reproduced in any way, shape or form without express, written consent. Emails or texts will normally be answered within the hour, but it's probably easiest to just phone. Cornwall Reports can also provide media training and copy-writing services to corporate clients.