For 130 years, the Coventry Evening Telegraph has, in one form or another, served as the voice of Britain’s City of Culture. The Telegraph has charted, documented, and helped to shape the city’s history. But what was it like to tell the stories which made that made Coventry? In this short film, historians from Coventry University speak with former employees about life behind the scenes of the Telegraph, allowing them to share their stories and give a unique insight into one of the city’s defining institutions.
I was very pleased to be involved in the Coventry Evening Telegraph documentary exploring the Oral History of an important local newspaper alongside my colleagues Dr Darren R. Reid, Dr Chris Smith and Brett Sanders. Fellow newspaper historian, Dr Rachel Matthews, and I are currently working on a couple of publications based on this project having presented our research at the Oral History Society’s conference last year.
What was particularly great about this project was that it was a collaborative effort at all levels. We had some wonderful Undergraduate students (Poppy Britter, Sophie Knowles, Stefan Bernhardt-Radu and Yahim Ali) who conducted the interviews and helped film and produce the documentary.
It is great to be able to put this effort out there.
Dr Kristopher Lovell 