the strathbungo torch from paul of navarone on Vimeo.
I came across this video of the ‘Strathbungo Torch’ about an American newspaper of the 1950s or ’60s. It is a lovely and highly professional five minute video about a community paper with interviews and narrative from journalists and readers talking about the newspaper and its place in the community. Their editorial approach is epitomized in two lovely quotes from the editor who said:
The day we get no complaints is the day we put out a dull newspaper…
The day that the newspaper comes out and everybody reads it and nobody’s mad, you’re almost dead certain that that was a bad newspaper.
He talks about “light and dark places in the community” and the paper’s place “to suggest how things can be improved”.
The BungoBlog is, I suppose, our equivalent of ‘The Strathbungo Torch’ with the potential to better report on Strathbungo’s news, views, politics and society, but I believe is in need of an editorial refreshment (as well as the visual one we have already done) to better engage residents. In the new year I’ll draft an editorial policy which I will put on the blog and present to the Strathbungo Society for your views on how best to take the BungoBlog forward to make it more engaging, more interactive and more provocative. I’d be very interested in views on what we can do with the BungoBlog so please do leave comments or drop me an e mail to let me know who you think.
Thanks so much for all the great work you’re doing here. I want to contribute something in the future. Maybe I’ll make it a goal to post one thing a week.
They mention a movie playing in downtown Detroit. I’m from Detroit, but I’ve never heard of this paper, and I don’t know of a Detroit neighborhood or suburb called Strathbungo. How weird…
I came across a little sticker on a panel at Milngavie Reservoir recently.
I can send a photo if I have an email address…
Anyway it says “the crab seeks knowledge… ……it reads THE STRATHBUNGO TORCH.”
in the middle of the quote is a drawing of a crab reading an open book/newspaper.
Googled it and all I found was the vimeo post and this blog post.
Curious!
Thank you – you can send the pic to news@strathbungo.co.uk
Methinks “The Strathbungo Torch” has been stuck over an old video by some Glasgow wit – Paul Revie (@paulofnavarone on Twitter). He also tweeted about the River Kelvin commemorative plaque to the Great Glasgow Sherbet Explosion; I wonder if that was one of his plaques too? Would love to see the picture.