THE Bournemouth Daily Echo has taken on a new reporter who will focus predominantly on voicing the views and concerns of the community.

Greg Luckhurst, who is from South Devon originally, is one of the 83 community reporters based at regional newspapers and websites around the UK, funded by Facebook.

Having recently finished his Multimedia Journalism degree at Bournemouth University, the 22-year-old now lives in the area and is becoming more accustomed to life in Bournemouth.

Greg said: “As part of my course, we had to go out and cover stories from different areas within Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.

“There are still some places that are unfamiliar to me and places I am aware don’t get enough coverage in the newspaper about the community work that they do. I want to help these places whilst also accurately representing news in the Bournemouth area.”

Although Greg will be covering community news across the conurbation, he has also been given a focus to cover news from the Boscombe area.

“As many of you will know, Boscombe has a reputation that precedes it”, he said.

“However, since starting my job three weeks ago and talking to residents, I have heard of many projects, events and communities in the area that are doing amazing work and I want to help to give them the exposure they deserve.

“I want to help connect people using social media, find stories that might otherwise be missed and promote positive news in Boscombe and the rest of the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch area.

“I want to connect with people and engage with the community and give them a bit of autonomy to shape what is being written in their local newspaper."

Facebook donated £4.5 million to the NCTJ, the National Council for the Training of Journalists, to make this project possible. The two-year Community News Project is the first of its kind and also aims to bring more diversity into newsrooms.

If you have a community-related story for Greg, you can contact him on greg.luckhurst@bournemouthecho.co.uk or call 01202 411327. You can also connect with him on Facebook by searching for Greg Luckhurst Journalist and join the Bournemouth Community Group Facebook group.