Tommy and Libby Brown are co-founders and editors of the Cobb Chronicle, an online newspaper that reports on the town of Lyme Regis in Dorset and everything that goes on there. I came across their excellent publication in June and have been tracking their brilliant reporting and superb photography since then. Tommy kindly answered a few questions about what he’s learnt from creating the Cobb Chronicle and what his friends at school thought of it.
Firstly, how old are you? And how old is Libby?
I have just turned 10 – my birthday was at the end of June. Libby is 8.
Why did you decide to start the Cobb Chronicle?
Because we wanted children to be able to know what’s going on in the local town and so they could have the experience of writing for a newspaper.
We also wanted there to be good news because lots of the news is gloomy, we want people to smile. One of our rules is that we try not to be biased and show both sides of an argument. Some papers that we read are biased and only show one side of an argument. They can sound all cross even when there are lots of brilliant things going on.
How do you decide what news you’re going to write for the paper?
We make a big list of all the things going on in Lyme Regis and then pick the top articles. We have some articles that are in each week like the poetry and tea connoisseur.
I like the debate and poetry sections – where did those ideas come from?
I liked watching the general election debates on television and wanted to have a go at them myself. We have also done a few at school. Some letters and opinions in papers show only the against side of an argument and we wanted to show both sides.
The poetry idea came from some school homework and I enjoy writing poetry. Lyme Regis is a spectacular seaside place so you’ll never run out of ideas for poems.
Who is the most interesting person you’ve met whilst writing for the CC?
I have sent off some interviews to celebrities who have visited Lyme Regis and am hoping some will reply soon. So far though it would be a local author and councillor called Rikey Austin. She has written teddy bear books and made the teddy bears from the stories with her friend Josey. Her shop, “Alice’s Bear Shop” features in the books. She does lots of good things for the town and dedicates lots of her time to help lots of local people. She tries to do a random act of kindness every day.
Another person who is important is Alan Vian, the town crier. He seems to work 24/7 during the summer months because there are exciting things happening every day. He helps organise the Lyme Regis Regatta and Carnival in August, the Christmas lights, fireworks displays, bonfire nights and many parades.
Who is the mysterious Tea Connoisseur? Or is it a secret?
Sorry, it is a secret. He found his love of tea on a cruise ship some years ago, and has been judging tea ever since.
Do you and Libby have arguments deciding what to write?
Yes! We sometimes argue over what ‘top ten’ to do and who will write what article. Libby likes to write about fashion and wildlife and I like to write about other interesting things!
How do your mum and dad help?
Mummy checks our spellings – I email her the finished articles and she goes through the spellings with me. My Daddy gives us some ideas for articles and we talk about what we could write.
You said you showed your class at school – what did your friends think?
They really liked it and I found out that some of the places that I have written about are owned by their parents!
What’s your favourite subject at school?
My favourite subject is science because I like the idea of chemisty and wildlife. I also like art because I love drawing and painting the local scenery. Libby likes art too because it is creative and fun. She also likes ICT and writing stories on the computer.
What would you like to do when your older?
I would either like to be a pilot or an author. For a hobby I would like to be a professional rugby player. Libby would like to be a nurse, a doctor or an inventor.
What do you do when you’re not at school or writing the Cobb Chronicle? What hobbies do you have?
One of my hobbies is tag rugby and Libby likes drama. I play the clarinet and Libby is learning the piano. We also swim, play on our scooters and go for bike rides. We do lots of walking along the coast.
What things have you learnt since starting the paper?
Paragraphing, punctuation, newspaper formats such as columns and non fiction writing. We’ve also learnt how to make people smile and how to advertise our paper. We are not putting adverts in the paper yet and have discussed how they can affect your writing. We give it away free, but ask for donations to the local youth group instead.
However, we have learnt that some people can be grumpy no matter how hard you try! Someone complained that we had been too nice about a shop! We have checked our facts and we were right! Ha, ha, Mr Grumpy man! We hope he will eventually cheer up and be nice!
What’s your favourite article you’ve written?
My favourite is the one about the chainstores because everyone is talking about it at the moment. Libby’s is the fashion one because it reminds her of feeling fresh in the summer. (Even though it’s rained for ever!) We also like the wildlife ones and enjoy sharing ideas with others. We have shown lots of people where the grass snakes are!
Cobb Chronicle’s latest edition can be found here and they tweet from @cobbchronicle