About Notts News

History

The idea for Notts News began life over 15 years ago at a meeting called to organise a competition for community newsletters. In the process of arranging the competition and talking to many people around the county who were, and remain, passionate about their communities and the newsletter they produce, it became obvious that it would be good to bring these people together to exchange news and views.

Initially, meetings were informal and held at various locations in Nottinghamshire. They had speakers on a variety of topics and provided opportunities for participants to chat about subjects of common interest, such as obtaining funds to produce their newsletter, finding a reliable printer, etc.

After a while the need for an organisation dedicated to our county newsletters became apparent and The Association of Nottinghamshire Newsletters (usually shortened to ‘Notts News’) was formed, under the auspices of Nottinghamshire Rural Community Council (NRCC), and supported mainly by many of the volunteers who still run the organisation.

Notts News grew and developed and started offering training courses and seminars. In January 1997 we became independent of the NRCC. We used meetings and a printed newsletter (The Editor’s Column) as our main channels of communication with members. But, Nottinghamshire is a large geographical area, so meetings often involved a large amount of travel for many of the attendees. Also, by its nature, a printed newsletter can only effectively disseminate information in one direction - from the committee to the members.

We still host an annual newsletter competition and provide training courses. However we are currently expanding the services we offer and, as well as organising regional forums for members, we are working to turn our website into a comprehensive resource that will provide newsletter editors with practical advice on all aspects of newsletter production.

In January 2008 NRCC changed its name to Rural Community Action Nottinghamshire (RCAN). Their offices are at Newstead Miners Welfare Community Centre. Click here to visit the RCAN website (opens in a new window).

Notts News today

Unfortunately, at the AGM on September 16th 2009, it was not possible to elect sufficient committee members for Notts News to continue. The committee members elected prior to the AGM are now in the process of winding down the organisation.

We have offered the remaining funds to RCAN who, we hope, will continue to support some of the popular Notts News activities (such as the Newsletter Competition).