About

By Sam Morshead, Founder/Editor, The Moonraker

What is this 'Moonraker' thing? Well, give me a moment of your time and I'll tell you.

I don't like the way regional sports coverage is being discarded by large publishers, so I'm doing something about it.

I am a student of local newspapers. I got my start in one, I enjoyed several of the best years of my career at one.

Local media underpins a functioning local community: it informs, entertains and challenges its audience; supports and is supported by its local businesses; and acts as a sort of social adhesive.

But it is falling apart.

What is going wrong?

Communities are being underserved and left behind as the zombification of regional newspapers, caused by regular cuts to staff and infrastructure, continues.

Sport is a pivotal part of those local communities. It connects great swathes of a region's demographic through shared interest, love and purpose. It generates talking points in pubs and offices.

It demands due care and attention.

Across the country, the men and women who have kept their communities in tune with their sports clubs for years are finding themselves out of work, their roles no longer deemed of value to publishers chasing a different sort of audience.

But their role is, in reality, just as important as ever.

Now, it's time to change the game.

How are we going to change the game?

Today, I'm launching a new outlet for the Swindon Town fan community - an outlet not tied to the traditional overheads, commercial pressures, and centralised editorial obligations of larger publishers.

The Moonraker is the concept case for a wider platform of networked outlets for regional sportswriters and content creators who have the skills, contacts and storytelling ability to connect their communities... but are being ignored or sidelined by traditional regional media publishers.

This platform, called CounterPress, is being built with only two groups in mind: the creator and the community.

For the former, a well-supported set of tools to assist in every aspect of running a digital media outlet: from editorial and legal to social media, web development, design and commercial.

For the latter: an engaging, clean, unintrusive reading experience coupled with community perks, that brings a fanbase together.

It is a grand scheme, a passion project that has been brewing for years. And it's thrilling, and really very scary, to be taking the first step of what I hope will be many today.

So what will you get on The Moonraker?

The intention is to provide an entertaining, informative and easy reading experience for our members.

I have covered Swindon for several years over the course of the career, I know the history, community and shared spirit of the club and its fans. I've been through the limited highs and numerous lows of the past three decades as a supporter. I am a season-ticket holder. I have a broad and deep Town contacts book, and I am in tune with the discussions being had by fans in living rooms, pubs and online.

Without edicts from above, directing what should be published, The Moonraker offers a democratisation of regional sports media - where the journalist can report directly to their audience, both in terms of news delivery and because I am directly in your employ.

Between us, we can establish what you want to hear about, and dig into the stories that matter to you.

"I am adamant local audiences know the value of real, committed, intelligent, accessible journalism"

You won't be subjected to invasive advertising, and the commercial deals we do will be a) with local businesses in Swindon and b) will always need to come with a benefit to our members.

No more popups. No more autoplay videos. No more quizzes before you can read a sentence.

The site will not operate like local papers typically have over recent years.

Initially, I will not be doing matchday content from every matchday, and will instead invest time and energy in delivering breaking news, deeper analysis, and a fresh angle on what it means to cover Swindon Town.

For £50 a year, or £5 per month, I promise to lay on a spread which looks at our club from different perspectives, explores nostagia, delves into the the characters of the club past and present, and explores current affairs knowledgeably, fairly and sensitively.

I am adamant local audiences know the value of real, committed, intelligent, accessible journalism.

Between us, we can reverse recent trends. And Swindon can be the focal point of the revival.