The Good, the BAD and the Messenger

Story by Tim Neal

In celebration of the 50th issue of the Messenger this article takes a look at the paper’s origins.

People new to Burngreave might imagine the Messenger has always been funded by New Deal; but it was in late 1998, well over a year before New Deal was announced, that two Community Development Workers arranged a meeting of what was to become the crew which got the first two editions of the Burngreave Messenger to the press and to our doors.

Burngreave of the late 1990s renowned for the number of committed activists whose involvement in community initiatives was inspired by a range of convictions. From 1995 through to late 1998 a local news sheet, BAD News (Burngreave Action and Development) by Doug Johnson, was produced with the support of the Arches Housing Association. It ran for eight or so issues but eventually folded due to organisational pressures. It was crucial the Messenger didn’t meet the same fate.

Finding funds

The idea of creating a local newspaper “…emerged at the same time as BCAF, in its original locally inspired form, when we had a community work team at Abbeyfield House supported by the Council” said Drew Dallen.

Tony Tingle and Pete Lyons, the Community Development Workers based in Abbeyfield Park House, were not central to the actual organisation of the early issues. “We were able to take a back seat,” said Tony, but they managed to facilitate funding from the Sheffield Community Enterprise Development Unit (SCEDU) for a feasibility study, and from Community Health Sheffield (through Gary McCulloch) that underwrote the first two editions.

Communication and commitment

The first meeting, like the following ones, took place in Abbeyfield Park House in the Credit Union office. It was attended by Drew Dallen, Saleema Imam, Aisha Special K and Mike Bentley. They also discussed, with Matloub Husayn Ali Khan, the setting up of a local radio station – an initiative later resulting in BCR (Burngreave Community Radio).

Nobody has yet claimed credit for the name ‘The Messenger’ (although rumour has it that Special K mooted it first) but what is remarkable is how successful they were in setting the style for the Messenger over the following years. “They record the spirit of those moments,” said Drew of the first two issues.

It is a credit to the hard work and dedication of the original volunteers that they established a model of community commitment and editorial independence – the spirit of which has lasted through to the current day.

“We wanted to improve communication in the area so that people could know about and take advantage of opportunities,” said Special K. “We wanted to make a difference. We wanted a vehicle for something to happen and to put people in touch with each other” agreed Mike Bentley. Importantly what this group also wanted for the future of the Messenger was editorial independence.

According to Mike the first editions were ad hoc affairs with every decision made by consensus, a point re-enforced by Special K who said “there was no editor just an editorial group”. No-one was paid and the copy came in from a variety of sources wished to support the initiative. People like Rob Smith – already an influential force in these early editions.

Don’t forget Anthony

Burngreave’s image within Sheffield and a perceived negative attitude towards the area was a driving force behind the cohesion of the group. The case of an 18- year-old college student who on the evening of 7 April 1999, was knocked off his bicycle and run over by a police car near Catherine Street in Burngreave was a rallying point for activists and residents.

“Anthony Green became big news because of the attitude of the police towards all in Pitsmoor and the bias of The Star. Such was the timing of that injustice that we had a good story to champion for the first issue,” said Drew. The story of Anthony led on the front page of the first issue and set the standard for the campaigning of the Messenger.

Hard work

The organisational pressures of the first edition alone were intense and carrying such professionalism through to the second edition proved even more onerous. The editorial group used facilities offered by a print workshop at the Monteney Community Workshop in Parson Cross where they learned about layout, “We made the plates to print the sheets ourselves. The paper was built on commitment and dedication,” said Special K.

But the pressures were intense, “Herculean demands of a monthly edition and all the demands of setting up the routines, infrastructure, philosophy and management plans and reports, researching, writing, printing and delivery required for the funding,” said Drew. It was thus perhaps an appropriate conclusion to this remarkable episode that New Deal was announced and elected to draw on the success of the Messenger to promote its message across the community.

50 not out

“One of our aims was always sustainability, that we could go on if funding was withdrawn” said Special. The paper’s place in the community of Burngreave will be the base of this, the Messenger was always meant to be a community paper and as Drew said “It is crucial to the overall success of our community that people know what was being done and why”.

The Messenger has reached its 50th issue. Congratulations to the original team and congratulations to those whose dedication, organisation and commitment have carried the paper forward from those early days. This article may not be about you but the continued success of the Messenger is!