The award-winning team behind OnTheWight are driven by the mission to bring the people of the Isle of Wight (and beyond) straight, honest and clear journalism – the kind of reporting Islanders deserve.
We’re flattered to hear that those goals have been recognised by the people of the Island, bestowing the ultimate accolade – that they Trust what they read here. That makes us very proud.
Starting life way back in 2005 as VentnorBlog, we’ve grown in audience; breadth of reporting and community engagement to become part of the fabric of Isle of Wight life.
A core of journalists, reporters and enthusiastic contributors have helped build the success of the publication, which has over 100,000 visits a month and a strong social media network on Facebook and Twitter.
Editorial
If you’ve got a news story that you think other Islanders would be interested in, whether you’ve got something to say, or a story lead, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
Over the time the publication has been running, close to 750 people (as at August 2012) have had articles published, giving many of them a voice they wouldn’t otherwise have had.
Success for our advertisers
We’re happy to share our large readership with businesses. We’ve brought success to many Island businesses, like the Garlic Festival, whose Chairman, David Holmes, said, “I would thoroughly recommend them to any Island business looking for cost effective advertising and outstanding value for money.”
If you’re interested in boosting your business, see our current rate card on the Advertise page.
Innovation
We use technical advances to get our readers closer to the news and events.
We’ve been reporting live from significant Isle of Wight council meetings as far back as February 2007.
As well as tweeting from Bestival as far back as 2006, we also delivered live video broadcasts from Bestival in 2008 to give those unable to attend, a flavour of what they were missing.
Our coverage of the Vestas sit-in, that started as a small, local story, expanded to a long-running international story.
Accolades
We’ve been delighted with the praise that we have received from many circles.
On the National-side, as well as winning the inaugural Best UK Hyperlocal site award, our reporting has also been acknowledged.
Guardian journalist Sarah Harte nominated us for the Best Forensic Reporting Award.
Judith Townend, senior reporter, Journalism.co.uk, picked our coverage of the Vestas sit-in in her Best New Media of 2009, sitting alongside The Observer.
