SoGlos Blog

SoGlos makes the South West Media Awards 2013 shortlist

The shortlist for the EDF Energy South West Media Awards 2013 was announced on Tuesday 7 May 2013, and SoGlos has been named in the final four of the prestigious Website of the Year category.

Held in association with holdthefrontpage.co.uk, the awards honour the best in journalism across the south west – spanning Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire – and this is the fourth year in a row that SoGlos has been lucky enough to make the finals.

This year SoGlos will be pitted against some of the biggest newspaper names in the region for the Website of the Year title, including bristolpost.co.uk, swindonadvertiser.co.uk and theexeterdaily.co.uk. 

Dan Pritchard, EDF Energy regional media manager, was on the judging panel. He said: ‘quality journalism is alive and well across the south west. There are fantastic contenders on this year’s shortlist and with nearly 300 entries in 20 categories, it’s a great achievement to be nominated.’

The final results will be announced at an awards ceremony in Exeter on Thursday 6 June 2013, and while the team is absolutely thrilled that SoGlos has been shortlisted, we’ll all be keeping our fingers and toes crossed for a shiny award to match our one from 2010!

SoGlos publisher speaks about start-up journalism at news:rewired

SoGlos’s publisher James Fyrne had the pleasure of being invited to speak at the 2013 news:rewired event held last Friday, presenting to delegates before joining a Q&A panel focused on start-up journalism.

The regular event, organised by journalism.co.uk and this time held at the MSN UK headquarters in London, saw hundreds of journalists and media professionals on the delegate list, with the day’s agenda also including talks from Facebook journalism programme manager Vadim Lavrusik, Washington Post executive producer for digital news Cory Haik, and Huffington Post UK technology editor Michael Rundle.

Audience members at the start-up journalism session were particularly keen to find out more about SoGlos’s six-year history and commercial success – somewhat of an anomaly in UK regional online publishing – as well as how the online magazine was launched, how traditional local media view SoGlos and how it operates as a publishing model.

Fyrne was joined on the panel by Adam Westbrook, digital producer and founder editor of Inside the Story magazine, as well as Stuart Goulden, founder and managing director of One&Other, a York-based online and print title.

Find out more about the annual journalism conference and this year’s speakers at newsrewired.com.

SoGlos sponsors Gloucester Rugby vs Harlequins match

SoGlos was the proud sponsor of the Friday 29 March 2013 Aviva Premiership match between Gloucester Rugby and Harlequins, which turned out to be one of the most exciting of the season as the Cherry and Whites fought their way to a 17:15 win in the closing moments of the second half.

Enjoying the view from the 1873 Club, SoGlos’s publisher James Fyrne and editor Michelle Fyrne had the pleasure of welcoming clients from Cafe Rene, Marketing Gloucester, Sportbeat Festival and Roses Theatre to enjoy dinner and drinks – with everyone enjoying the amazing atmosphere at Kingsholm.

Paul Soden from Cafe Rene also relished the opportunity to present Akapusi Qera with his Man of the Match award, following the evening’s action. For more information see gloucesterrugby.co.uk.

SoGlos unveils new journalism internship programme

It’s already been a busy spring for the team, and hot on the heels of our news about the new SoGlos HQ we’re excited to announce our brand new internship scheme. See SoGlos launches journalism internship for more details.

SoGlos deputy editor to speak at news:rewired 2013

Following his previous appearance at the inaugural Journalism.co.uk news:rewired event in 2010 – where he spoke about new journalism and new business models – SoGlos co-founder James Fyrne has been invited to return to the annual conference this April, when he will talk about the success of the online magazine.

Being held at MSN’s UK offices in Victoria, London, the ‘one-day conference will offer delegates a day of inspiring presentations, practical workshops and topical discussions with experts and innovators from the digital journalism industry. Sessions will focus on the latest techniques and tools being used in forward-thinking newsrooms in the UK and beyond.’

Find out more about the event and full line-up of speakers at newsrewired.com.

SoGlos receives signed Gloucester Rugby shirt

SoGlos co-founders Michelle and James Fyrne were presented with a signed Gloucester Rugby shirt on Saturday 15 December 2012, during the London Irish match sponsored by the online magazine.

Players Ryan Mills and Drew Locke handed over the home strip during a visit to the executive box, and the SoGlos team will in turn be presenting it to a local charity in 2013.

SoGlos sponsors Gloucester Rugby match against London Irish

Proud sponsors of the Gloucester Rugby vs London Irish match on Saturday 15 December 2012, the SoGlos team and a number of prestigious local clients were treated to some fine sporting action in a private pitch-side box during the pre-Christmas fixture.

SoGlos clients at the Kingsholm Stadium home match included The Daffodil, Hotel du Vin Cheltenham, the Hatton Collection, Bowden Hall Hotel and Cheltenham Town Hall.

And, as well as being presented with a signed rugby shirt (which is being donated to a local charity), Gloucester Rugby ensured a 47-3 victory as part of the wonderful corporate hospitality package!

Christmas in Gloucestershire guides

SoGlos’s annual Christmas in Gloucestershire guides have all been running for several weeks now, and as the days go by they’re getting fuller and fuller with the very best local festive merriment. Check out the direct links below for more:

Christmas in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire Christmas party guide
Gloucestershire Christmas gift guide
Christmas events in Gloucestershire
Christmas late night shopping in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire pantomime guide
Christmas lights in Gloucestershire

SoGlos hosts wine tasting evening at Hotel du Vin

SoGlos team members Michelle, James, Melanie and Shelly had the pleasure of hosting a wine tasting evening for a select number of local clients at Hotel du Vin Cheltenham, yesterday evening, sampling a fine selection of old and new world varieties – with informal and expert guidance from one of the venue’s informed experts.

A fun night was had by all – with Liz from Marketing Gloucester beating off the Cheltenham Town Hall, Parabola Arts Centre and Hallmark Hotel Gloucester teams, as our new wine knowledge was put to the test during an end of evening quiz.

Happy 5th birthday SoGlos.com

For he’s a jolly good fellow, for he’s a jolly good... okay, that’s enough of that, but we hope you’ll join us in celebrating a special occasion as SoGlos.com is officially five years old today. Hooray!

It’s been an amazing half a decade for the team – the last year in particular seeing SoGlos.com’s reach and client base soar at a phenomenal rate – and we’d like to express our sincerest gratitude to all of our readers and clients.

It’s only with your ongoing support that we can continue to take SoGlos.com from strength to strength as one of the UK’s only independent regional online magazines, and Gloucestershire’s leading arts and entertainment guide.

We’d also like to say a special thank you to SoGlos.com’s account director Melanie, and staff writer Shelly, who are a true asset to the team and we’re extremely lucky to have onboard.

Since January of this year we’ve been working on something very, very special indeed to mark our five-year anniversary... and in the not too distant future you’ll see some pretty big changes to SoGlos.com; the most significant since we first launched back in July 2007, in fact.

Don’t worry, you won’t miss what’s we have in store, and until then... bottoms up!