There have been plenty of office relocations, our printing presses have shifted many times as well, and our teams have embraced countless changes, especially in the digital age.
But never in the 240-year history of The Herald have we produced our newspaper outwith the great city of Glasgow. It is where we were founded (by an Edinburgh printer), where we grew our original audience, and where we continue to base ourselves in 2024, now serving readers across the world through both digital and print.
But that is to change as my team and I head north next week – Fort William bound – where we will run our website and produce our printed product as part of The New Highland Clearances, a week-long investigative series putting the area, its people and the social and economic challenges they face under the spotlight.
This is an exciting first for us and an important step.
Read more:
Editor's Pick | Catherine Salmond: An eventful, if not concerning, week for Scottish education
We are determined to bring our work to the communities under focus; to meet with readers and further the conversation around the topics we are investigating. We can do that best by being there, and by talking more we can work to find solutions.
It is a wide-ranging series and I am incredibly proud of the work that has gone into it from my team, led by reporter Caroline Wilson, a Highlander, who has travelled the area as part of her research to unearth a breadth of findings.
And she has met some fascinating people who have given their time so generously, shared personal experiences, and offered invaluable insight to allow us to lead a much-needed conversation about the very real challenges facing the area.
It is an important body of work, getting to the heart of many complex issues, including a population crisis, tourism, employment, housing, transport and hospitality. It speaks of people’s first-hand experiences, their frustrations, and the obstacles they face as they try to live, work and raise families. It is big on analysing data. It looks back, but also forward.
And it celebrates – that was vital to me when we embarked on this project – all the great things about The Highlands and Islands. Some of this our readers will be familiar with, but many more success stories are waiting to be shared.
The New Highland Clearances begins on Monday and you can hear more about it here from Wilson. She will also provide further candid discussion next week about her relationship with The Highlands, drawing on why, when it comes to depopulation, she is 'part of the problem'.
Since I took over as editor of The Herald just over a year ago, we have worked hard to diversify our content. This has included bringing in new writers, most recently columnist Roza Salih, Scotland’s first refugee councillor, and ensuring our geographical focus knows no limit.
Central Belt bias holds no interest at The Herald. Last summer, for example, our education writer James McEnaney spent a week on Orkney allowing us to focus on some of the fantastic work being done there. Reporter Caroline Wilson has broken many exclusive stories from The Highlands in the last year, while reporter Martin Williams has led the way when it comes to exposing the problems facing island communities owing to the scandal of our ferries.
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The New Highland Clearances furthers our commitment to telling wider stories, to delivering them well, and to leading the conversations that can bring about change.
Catherine Salmond,
Editor
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