Dear readers — Daniel here.
We are now getting tantalisingly close to the launch proper. Today’s update has information on our team, name, and office — so read on.
But before that, you’ve probably noticed that you’ve heard less from us over the last few weeks. There are two reasons. (Though if you haven’t yet read our pieces on bike lanes, crumbling Kirkgate buildings, and the irresistible pull back to Leeds, click the links.)
The first reason is that we’ve been beavering away sorting stuff out in the background — interviews, web design, office hunting etc. And second, I have to confess that I took a sneaky long holiday, bundling most of my annual leave into one big, greedy heap.
Why? Well, I’m expecting two babies. Not twins; one is a literal human offspring, due in the summer, and the other is the metaphorical child that is this newspaper. So I thought I should get some rest in first, before they both become very big parts of my life.
Still — I have some exciting developments to tell you about.
Firstly, we have a name! After whittling down a long list of compelling (and some slightly silly) names, we’ve settled on The Exchange. Here’s our logo, with our thanks to Jim McDougall for the fantastic design.
It’s a nod to the many exchanges around West Yorkshire: the Corn Exchange in Leeds, the Wool Exchange in Bradford, the Piece Hall in Halifax. These places built the wealth of the region, facilitating commerce that made it prosperous and populous. They’re also some of the very loveliest buildings that you’ll find in this part of the world, and still operate as hubs in their communities.
They were exchanges for more than just goods. Information would change hands: both hard facts and more speculative gossip. Our newspaper will provide a great deal of the former, and perhaps a smattering of the latter.
Sharpsighted readers may also have spotted that our site has a new address — we’re now at theexchange.news. We’re still working on designing it up, but it'll be ready soon.
Secondly, we have a newsroom! We’re moving in on the lovely Dock Street in Leeds, a cobbled street that runs just near the river. The building used to belong to Tetley’s brewery but is now a hub for small businesses and charities paying affordable rents (our new neighbours, for example, make flower presses. Delightful.) It feels like we’re taking up residence in a slice of local history, and we’re only a short walk from the train station, so it’ll be easy for us to get out and about across the region.
We’re not in quite yet, so I can’t show you the office itself (it’s roomy: lots of space to grow a buzzing newsroom) but here’s a view of the street outside.
As for the team, we’ll have an announcement for you very soon. There’s a bit of logistical stuff to sort out, so we’ve put back our formal launch by a couple of weeks. We will be kicking off in earnest on the 1st June — get it in the diary. But we’ll still have a few stories and updates in between now and then. If you want to get in touch with me in the meanwhile, my e-mail is here.
Thanks for reading, and bearing with us — we can't wait to properly launch The Exchange.
Daniel
