News website wants great reporters

greatreporter.com is a global showcase for the work of young reporters. It was borne out of the difficulties young people face in getting published in the mainstream media despite the fact they have the “get-up-and-go” to write original and high-quality content now.

The news portal places reporters’ work in front of a worldwide audience of editors and other journalists. It launched today with an article by BBC World Affairs Editor, John Simpson. The veteran correspondent – who narrowly escaped death when a bomb landed next to him, killing his translator, in Iraq recently – encourages young reporters and gives them the benefit of his own experiences when he was starting out and beyond.

The groundbreaking site has been developed in close collaboration with the original team behind the world famous ‘BBC News Online’ website and is quickly gaining prominence throughout the media world.

John Simpson said: “greatreporter.com is a lovely idea. The creation of an online news portal for young journalists is timely, if not somewhat overdue. greatreporter.com has the potential to go a long way.”

Richard Powell, the 24-year old founder of greatreporter.com, said: “The idea of the site was leaked on an Internet newsgroup just two weeks ago and we’ve had some amazing articles through just on the back of that.”

Richard says he is committed to making sure young reporters get the prominence their material deserves on a global platform, but is all too aware of the difficulties involved in starting out.

“I found entering the industry incredibly difficult and frustrating, even though I was writing material both at home and abroad that everyone said was excellent. No editor would give my work or me the time of day. Now I know how the industry works, I want to share the information with others who are in the position I was in at the beginning.”

Richard has subsequently had around 500 articles published on websites and in newspapers and magazines covering business, politics and international affairs in over 10 countries.

“Not only will greatreporter.com showcase the work of young journalists in every country in the world, it will also provide regular interviews with already established players in the industry so readers can learn and be inspired by their own personal journeys,” he said.

greatreporter.com also acts as a news agency for reporters and can provide payment if their material is purchased by editors externally. Once published, reporters will be able to add cuttings of their work to their portfolios: something John Simpson says is “critical” to gaining entry to the industry in his article.

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Notes to editors:

1/. All articles should be submitted through the website’s system at: http://www.greatreporter.com Accompanying photography should be sent to pictures@greatreporter.com. Further information is available on the site under ‘About’.

2/. A full interview with Richard Powell about the project and his background can be found on the site’s front page, for your reference. Please use the contacts below if you need to conduct an interview yourself.

For further information contact:
Richard Powell – Presswire Media Services
(e): richard@presswire.co.uk