Community Voice
Introduction
Community Voice is the Wycombe District Council magazine for residents. It
is delivered directly to 95% of district households using a distribution company
called D2D and is readily available on the Council website and in large print
and audio tape versions. Community Voice acts as an unofficial mouthpiece
for the Council, to ensure core messages are communicated directly, and
informs our residents of events and services offered around the district. It is
also an important vehicle for obtaining feedback on key corporate initiatives.
All material included must be in line with the Code of Recommended Practice
on Local Government Publicity.
The aim of this policy is to set out guidelines for the content of Community
Voice – what can be included and how it should be presented – to clarify the
charges that are made and explain how to ensure your article appears in
Community Voice.
Editorial content
Since it was redesigned and restructured as an A4 colour magazine in
September 2005 it has developed as a popular high quality eye-catching
product with a lively, engaging tone intended to catch the reader’s attention. It
is produced four times a year – spring, summer autumn and winter editions.
Recent readership surveys indicated that Community Voice is second only to
the Star free newspaper as the most important source of information about
the Council. However, our readership profile tends to be female and 45+,
although we are seeking to create more universal appeal by the introduction
of specialist pages or sections targeting other groups such as the young or
rural residents. In a recent survey of residents’ satisfaction with Community
Voice, the result was an average reader satisfaction of 78%.
Communications, together with Councillors, retain editorial and design control
of all items in order to ensure that key messages are prioritised and presented
in a style consistent with our corporate objectives.
How to get an article in Community Voice
Internal Council Departments
For an article to be included free-of-charge in Community Voice items should:
Help achieve the aims of the Council’s Strategic Plan.
Be newsworthy and of interest to the public i.e. be people focused.
Be non-political.
Preferably be written from the point of view of the service user, and/or
contain a quote from a service user (possibly in addition to a Councillor
quote).
Be under 250 words (a newspaper story often gives the facts in under 200
words).
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Give contact details for further information (telephone/email).
Be accompanied by an ‘action shot’ photograph where possible - again
preferably of service users or people from the community rather than
dignitaries.
Be consistent with our objective of being a Councillor-led authority.
External Bodies
For an article from an outside body to be included in Community Voice it must
conform to the above, and:
Be from a not-for-profit or charity organisation.
Be appropriate to the work of the Council (see advertising section) and
have objectives that are consistent with our own.
Be paid for as per the charges below (unless Communications feels the
article is key to the work of this Council and the charge can be waived or
reduced).
Charges for Editorial content
Internal Council departments
As a general rule, there will be no charge for those items of up to 250 words
on Council related matters which are deemed topical and newsworthy.
Larger articles or features that are designed to promote a service, event or
initiative can be included on an advertorial basis. These articles from WDC
departments are charged at a rate of:
£250 per half page
£500 for a full page
This is less than the full production cost and does not take into account officer
preparation time and therefore to that extent the newspaper is subsidised.
Communications reserves the right to edit, change and redraft articles to
ensure that they meet with the editorial style of the magazine.
External bodies
Where an outside or community body wishes to take advantage of a
promotional feature or advertorial, the general charge will be £250 per half
page, £500 for a full page if they make a direct approach to us.
Communications reserves the right to edit, change and redraft articles to
ensure that they meet with the editorial style of the magazine.
Advertising
Approximately six pages or equivalent of advertising per 32 page issue of
Community Voice are sold via our agent One Stop Media Services on behalf
of this Council, to help subsidise the magazine. Advertising is charged at
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£1,000 per page payable to the advertising agent and the Council receives
50% of this.
Content
The Council decides who can advertise in Community Voice and any copy
considered inappropriate would be excluded. The agent ensures that priority
is given to local business and not for profit companies. Consideration is also
given to the content of the adverts and in particular whether the message is
controversial. Any message should not attack or appear to undermine
generally accepted moral standards. The message should not be likely to
cause needless concern to those reading or seeing it. Certain categories of
content are specifically unacceptable:
Tobacco or alcoholic drinks.
Advertising specifically aimed at children.
Political or of an overtly religious nature.
Adverts of a sexual nature or whose content is otherwise likely to offend.
Promotion of Councillors or Officers or their immediate relations commercial
activities.
As a guideline, adverts should:
Not offend the Advertising Standards Authority’s Code of Practice.
Not be inconsistent with the work of the Council’s Strategic Plan.
Not be of a political nature.
Not be inconsistent with our objectives relating to equality, race sexism or
ageism.
Not be likely to invoke an adverse reaction from the general public or
otherwise likely to offend.
Requesting space in Community Voice
The following shows the procedure for producing Community Voice.
Communications will seek to ensure that space can be given over to
accommodate features in a particular edition. However, this cannot be
guaranteed. The nature of the overall range of stories, achieving an
appropriate balance between the number of features, advertising and news
will need to be taken into account. Please ensure that you discuss your ideas
with Communications well in advance. In the first instance please contact
Becky Wotherspoon on 01494 421207.
A full production schedule is placed on the
G:Drive/CommunityVoice/schedule.
Stage 1
Delivery – 11 weeks
Request for outline articles sent by
Communications to Cabinet, Chief Executive,
Directors, Heads of Service, regular contributors
(internal and external) and Parish Council
clerks. Gives all key dates to contributors for
this issue.
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Stage 2
Delivery – 10 weeks
Deadline for outline titles – a brief guide to the
content of the article and availability of
photographs
Stage 3
Delivery – nine weeks
Article list – A brief description of the articles
booked is sent to One Stop Media to help them
sell advertising space
Stage 4
Approx Delivery – nine Deadline for draft articles. An email is sent to
weeks
those people who have booked space but not
submitted their article. Any article submitted
should be thoroughly checked for accuracy and
cleared with the relevant Head of Service before
handing to Communications
Stage 5
Delivery - seven weeks Communications team edits all articles
submitted and sorts out the layout of community
Voice a meeting is then held with the designer to
discuss the layout and any special design
requirements. All copy is then sent to the
designer.
Stage 6
Delivery – six weeks
A list of all the adverts booked is sent to the
designer.
Stage 7
Delivery – five weeks
Proof received from designer and distributed to
all Cabinet members, Chief Executive, Directors
and contributors for factual errors to be checked.
All are given one week to check their article and
respond with any changes. All changes are then
emailed to the designer.
Stage 8
Delivery – four weeks
Adverts are sent from One Stop to the designer
Stage 9
Delivery – three weeks
Final proof received from printer which must be
checked and final text changes made before
being returned by date given to ensure changes
can be accommodated.
Stage 10
Delivery – three weeks
Proof is signed off and the disc sent to printer.
Stage 11
Delivery – two weeks
Print proofs arrive from the printers,
Harmsworth, these are checked and signed off
for printing to begin.
Stage 12
Delivery – one week
Sent for delivery
Stage 13
Delivery Delivery
Stage 14
Delivery finished
D2D confirm delivery and check backs begin. All
staff and Parish Councils contacted to give
information of any non delivery D2D arranges
redelivery. A meeting is held following the
distribution when D2D provides feedback on
how the delivery went.
When Community Voice has been printed copies are sent to Reading Tapes
for the Blind to be made into tapes and large print versions are also requested
from Design and Print. Once received these are distributed to people who
have requested Community Voice in a different format. This database is kept
on the G:Drive/Community Voice/Different format request/Different formats
database. A pdf of Community Voice is also placed on our website.
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