How the EDP will change to be even closer to the communities we serve

It's one of the hardest things to do - and one of the easiest things to get horribly wrong.

But it's also vital that when the time comes, change happens, both in terms of us as individuals and within the organisations we work.

And, as we hopefully continue to move out of the pandemic, change will be something that all of us will experience, to differing degrees, in many aspects of our lives.

Many of us will have spent much of the last 18 months reassessing our lives, what we like about them, what we don't and working out how we will try to be different once it's all over. Identifying where you want to change is the easy bit - making it happen, much harder.

Meanwhile, up and down the land, businesses are in the process of working out what has changed within the landscape of their particular area, and how they need to change and adapt accordingly.

The Eastern Daily Press is no different. The pandemic presented a massive challenge to this newspaper, our website and those whom work within its various departments.

Sales were, unsurprisingly, hit for a period as people became trapped inside. On the flip side, digital audience grew as people looked to our journalists for answers, information and support.

David Powles, Eastern Daily Press editor. (Image: Simon Finlay Photography)

Our commercial friends, facing their own unique challenges, found it harder to advertise for a period. They had to put other priorities first, in particular ensuring they simply stayed afloat. We understood that and appreciate their continued support.

Despite all of these challenges, I remain, and always will be, so immensely proud of the role my journalists have played during the pandemic. They didn't just stand on the sidelines, put their own concerns and fears first, they got stuck in, worked long hours, asked tough questions and took action to try to help readers all over Norfolk and Waveney.

That why, I believe, around 200,000 people engage with our content on print or online, every single day. Because what we do still matters.

However, that doesn't mean we should be immune to change. As we emerge, cautiously, out of the pandemic, my team and I have spent a lot of time looking at where we now need to change, what we can learn from the past 18 months and what will be important to the region - and you the reader - over the next 18.

We also asked for your own views on this and I was delighted that more than 3,000 readers took part in the recent EDP reader's survey. That's a phenomenal figure and has really given us some key information on what you like about what we do - as well as what you don't.

And over the next few weeks and months I would like to use this column to discuss some of those findings and how we will change to ensure the Eastern Daily Press is even more rooted within the community than it currently is.

This will be an evolution, not a revolution, we know that many thousands of you remain happy with what we do. But we also know that we are not perfect.

I look forward to involving you on this journey of change - and I hope to hear even more of your views on the way.

* Next week: What you said in our reader's survey.

Send us your stories

As part of our ongoing improvements we have set up a dedicated new curation team committed to making it even easier for your stories and achievements to be heard and recognised.

We want to champion your community, ensure your voice is heard and for you to use the pages of the newspaper to shout about the things that are important to you.

Our new team will be tasked with working alongside the public to tell stories that matter to you, your friends and family and your community.

Do you have a passion for something you would like to express in an opinion column? Or a photograph of a community occasion you would like to share? Are you involved in a sports team or club and would like to share their achievements? Or are you a local historian looking to celebrate your community’s past? We would like to hear from you.

If you have something you would like to share with us, or if you would like to discuss further, please get in touch. You can email norfolkcontributors@archant.co.uk.