Meet the media
Chris Sherrard is the editor of Belfast Live. He previously held the roles of Digital Publishing Executive for Mirror Media Ireland, where he oversaw the launch and growth of the Irish Daily Mirror and Daily Mirror Northern Ireland e-editions. He joined Trinity Mirror in 2009 and was previously Night Editor of the print editions of the Irish Daily Mirror and Daily Mirror Northern Ireland.
How did you get into journalism?
I was relatively late in realising that journalism was what I wanted to do with my life. I always loved writing and my biggest interest was sport so it was suggested to me that sports journalism could be right up my street.
I was able to get my foot in the door at my local paper, the Portadown Times, where I had a great grounding in composing football round-ups and wider news stories. From that I went on and did a degree as a mature student in Sunderland and after I graduated there I secured a job working for the Ballymoney Times.
From there it was on to the Daily Mirror and, subsequently Belfast Live, via a spell in London with Sky.
Describe your typical working day?
The great thing about journalism, the thing I love most in fact, is that there is no such thing as a typical working day. When I get up in the morning the thrill is the not knowing what is in store.
Of course, we try to have a structure to which we work so the first thing I do is check on any breaking stories overnight. Then it’s a case of trying to sketch out a plot for the day ahead and structure what we’re doing and going to do and then strap myself in for whatever else the day throws up!
Who would you identify as your role models in the industry and why?
I’m not sure about the phrase ‘role model’ because if you want to stand out you’re going to have to follow your own path at some point. There are, however, many people I admire greatly within journalism.
One such figure I’m lucky enough to call a colleague in David Higgerson who is Trinity Mirror’s Digital Publishing Director. He’s responsible for the audience numbers of all of Trinity Mirror’s regional titles, including the Manchester Evening News, Wales Online and the Liverpool Echo.
David is a man never short on ideas, enthusiasm and support and is a great asset to our group.
What is it about journalism that you enjoy?
Specifically with online journalism, the aspect with which you tend to get the biggest thrill is breaking news. Being right across a story and developing it and moving it on as it unfolds is something which should excite every journalist.
It’s also extremely satisfying to see stories that you’ve worked on, planned, written and published actually move people, particularly to support a brilliant cause.
What would you describe as your most notable story or project?
Well in terms of projects that I’ve been involved with it’s hard to look past Belfast Live as the most rewarding to date. I’ve been lucky enough to have been involved in some big new ideas – the launch of the Irish Mirror website being another.
For Belfast Live, I literally sat with a blank piece of paper and thought long and hard about what I wanted it to become. I felt what was eventually created and launched was what was needed in the digital space in Northern Ireland but the response that we’ve had was swifter and more overwhelming than I could ever have hoped for.
Within a matter of months we were posting monthly unique user figures of more than one million.
As equally challenging has been trying to then grow that but, thankfully, we’ve been able to do it and August 2016 was actually our record month for audience numbers.
How is journalism embracing the digital revolution?
I think there is a lot of brilliant work being done digitally within journalism and has been for a while.
What we’ve tried to do with Belfast Live is more accurately reflect what is actually happening in Northern Ireland rather than the version which has been presented, lazily, for so long.
Right from the start I’ve wanted us to have an open mind about how we tell stories and detach ourselves from the standard journalistic tools.
But the day that you think you’ve cracked it is the day that you’ve lost it. Not a day goes by without a new digital development or a new idea which could well be the next big thing. Those who thrive and will continue to thrive are those prepared to embrace the better of those changes the quickest.
What advice would you give anyone starting out in the profession?
Be prepared to work hard and never think your knowledge is complete. Journalism is constantly changing and evolving and you need to be of a mindset that you’re capable of embracing that change. The biggest assets a journalist can have are the ability to connect with people and also have bucketfuls of ideas.
What are your main interests outside of work?
I have two young children so they take up pretty much all of my attention and energy when I’m not at my desk.
I love sport, pretty much every sport going I would watch. Another is music (cool people look away now), particularly American country music.
