READERS of The National will be “absolutely fascinated” by a new BBC documentary about the paper, according to its award-winning filmmaker and producer Sarah Howitt.
Sarah told editor Callum Baird about the highs and lows of making a new two-part series called The Papers on BBC One Scotland, the first episode of which airs tomorrow night at 9pm.
Sarah said making the programme made her realise “it is enormously impressive what’s possible to do in 24 hours”.
The documentary crew were given behind the scenes access to the newsroom of Newsquest Scotland’s flagship titles (The National, The Herald and the Evening Times) – for a never-seenbefore glimpse at how modern newspapers are put together.
The series has three main storylines running through it: the countdown to Brexit and how the papers cover it, the transition between digital and print, and how the industry copes with budget cuts and redundancies. But the main focus is the staff of the papers.
The show begins in September 2018 – with the launch of the Sunday National and Herald on Sunday after the demise of the Sunday Herald.
It covers the inside story of The National's viral front page about Theresa May refusing the paper access to her Bridge of Weir press conference and some colourful language from Sunday National editor Richard Walker.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel