What is
Martial News?
Martial News is a NEWSPAPER dedicated to providing a place where
martial art clubs
can have their news published, where students can see their
achievements
recognised and a place where charity events in the community can
receive
support.
Who owns and runs
Martial News?
Martial News
is owned and ran by DFM Self-protection Ltd a company that teaches
conflict
resolution training, first aid and health and safety. Part of DFM
Self-protection is known as DFM Martial Arts which has clubs across the
north
and teaches street combat, kickboxing and mixed martial arts.
DFM Martial Arts holds cage fight nights.
Why was Martial
News
set up?
Martial News
was set up to help publicise The Great Northern Festival of Martial
Arts,
otherwise known as the Marfest.
The Marfest - organised and ran by Sensei Peter Seth - raises money for
Cancer
Research UK
and Martial News helps with the PR for this great event.
Because the mainstream media's routinely ignore martial arts
we decided
the easiest and best way to publish information on the Marfest was to
do it
ourselves.
What other
charities
does Martial News support?
We
support
Help For Heroes and our group holds Cage Fight Nights to help raise
cash for
this charity. But we support any club that raises cash for charity and
WILL
always give those clubs priority when it comes to publishing stories.
We give ten per cent of profit to charity. The rest goes to developing
the site further.
Why does Martial
News do advertising discounts for martial arts groups in the North of England and Scotland?
We give huge
discounts on adverts on Martial News to clubs in our core regions so
the club's
and associations can promote themselves to their core markets cheaply.
We WANT
all martial arts to grow and prosper because martial arts are our
passion.
Then why not just
give
adverts away to the clubs?
Unfortunately
we
can't do that as running a site like this costs our organisation a
considerable
amount to run. We have to pay for all the telephone calls, electricity
and
hosting fees and we rely on advertising to help pay for that cost.
These costs run
in to hundreds of pounds every month.
Martial News
encourages clubs to take stories written about them off the site to
send to the
mainstream media...why?
We want martial arts to prosper and grow and the
way to do that is through
publicity. But most people find it difficult to get stories published
in the
mainstream media. This because newsdesks are extremely busy and simply
do not
have time to chase up everyday stories on the arts (they will be glad
to do so
if the story is unusual or quirky - but every day stories on club's
opening,
gradings and charity events are not "worth their while" and often end
up as little more than tiny fillers in newspapers).
However, because they are very busy they will accept well-written copy
that is
done in a journalist style. You send us your stories, we write them in
a
journalist style and then once it’s published you can take
them off site free
of charge and send them to your local newspaper.
Think of us as being YOUR PR wing.
Martial News has
bloggers on site. Do they get paid?
No - nobody who contributes to Martial News gets
paid. They are all
volunteers who gladly give their time and expertise to make Martial
News the
great success that it is. In return they get to publicise their arts
and their
clubs to a huge audience - this also a reason why DFM runs this
site...we also
get to publish and gain publicity for our clubs and events as well. So,
although we do NOT gain directly from Martial News we all gain
something for
our time whether its publicity for our arts, clubs, causes or through
new
students joining our groups.
Is Martial News
only
interested in the big clubs with hundreds of students?
No - we will
publish any story on any club regardless of its size. We simply do not
care if
you club has three students or three thousand. As long as the club is a
martial
arts group we will write about it regardless of style, system or
association.
Why does Martial
News not publish stories about
"troubles" in martial arts associations?
We are
STRICTLY non-political and simply do NOT want to be
involved in what are usually pretty squabbles between personalities...
Why isn't Martial News as
"flashy" as the
magazines?
We
are
NOT a magazine but a NEWSPAPER. These are two different
entities.
Magazines are full of features and tend to only write about what they
perceive
as the "superstars" of the martial arts world. They are generally not
interested in the real heroes of the martial arts community - the
instructors
and students who actually train week-in week-out for the love of the
arts. That
is why you keep seeing the same people over and over ad naseum in
magazines. If
its "hero worship" you want then we suggest you spend your money on a
magazine...if you want to read about real people then join us.
Mainstream
newspapers such as the Mirror, Telegraph or Independent are not written
or
presented in the same way as Hello or GQ...they don't need to be
because they
are full of news and not features...
Martial News
often
publishes stories on martial artists who commit crimes or abuse. Does
that not
show martial arts in a bad light?
We are a
NEWSPAPER
so, whether it is bad or good if that is the news then it will be
published.
Also - if we published stories on instructors abusing students then we
are
doing one of a NEWSPAPERS' core aims...shaming those that NEED
shaming!
The simple answer is DO NOT ABUSE students otherwise you will find
yourself
plastered all over our pages!
If Martial News
is a
newspaper for the North of England
and Scotland,
why does it publish national and international stories?
Martial News is the same as any other mainstream regional newspaper we
aim to
provide stories that are of interest to our readers. All regional
mainstream
newspapers carry a mix of regional, national and international news.
Who reads Martial
News?
Martial News
is widely read by the martial artists of the North of England and Scotland.
We have a huge number of
subscribers that runs into thousands and thousands.
But it's not just martial artists in the UK
who read Martial News. Our
second biggest core readership is from the United States with India
being our third biggest core
readership. We have readers from just about every country in the world.
And its not just current martial artists who read Martial News - every
month
hundreds of potential students looking to join martial arts clubs use
Martial
News to find clubs in their areas.
Often the same
clubs
appear in Martial News on a regular basis? Why is that?
That is
because
they know the value of good publicity and are actively supporting what
we do by
helping us with their contributions. This is something we a really
PLEASED with
because without their fantastic support it would not be possible to
produce the
newspaper. We also chase these groups to contribute because we have
grown a
relationship with them over the past 18-months we have been running and
we know
that these clubs share the same values as we do...we all love the arts
and
support charitable events. These groups are Martial News' supporters
and we
really appreciate ALL the SUPPORT and ENCOURAGEMENT they give us.
Can anyone send
stories or contribute to Martial News?
Yes - we
welcome news from any club and will gladly accept contributions from
anyone
wanting to have stories published. Contributors do not have to be good
at
English or write in a journalist style. All they have to do is send us
the
information, a few pics and some quotes and we will knock it into shape
and
publish it.
You do not have to be from the North of England
or Scotland
to contribute stories. If you are outside our regional base we will
publish the
stories either in the national or international sections.
Why isn't Martial
News sold in shops and newsagents?
Two reasons -
first it costs tens-of-thousands to do a print run and distribute a
hard copy
version and we simply do not have that kind of money as we do this
voluntarily.
Secondly - within the next decade you will NOT be able to buy
mainstream
newspapers in shops either because the entire industry is looking to
switch to
the internet and other electronic outlets. We are simply getting ahead
of the
herd by only publishing online.
Why
does Martial
News have two editions a month?
Although we
try to get every story we can into the first edition
it is impossible because of time or because the event or story has
happened
after we publish the first edition.
The second edition allows us to publish those stories in the same month
as the
others. It also helps boost our readership mid-month and carries the
newspaper
into the next month.
There is a
directory of
clubs and associations on Martial News. How much does it cost to join
the
directory?
It costs
absolutely NOTHING. We will gladly add your club
to the directory free-of-charge. All you have to do is send us a logo
and
contact details for your club and we will add it to the directory. All
we ask
in return is for you to add our website address as a link on your site
using
our logo which can be found at the top of the page. Your
website then
acts like a newsagent for Martial News!
I like
what Martial
News does, its support for the clubs and its charitable aims. How can I
support
it and help it grow?
If you like
what we do then you can help by sending us
stories or buy an advert on site. All adverts are click-through which
takes
readers directly to your website. If your club or association comes
from the
North of England
or Scotland
the
adverts then you are entitled to a third off the stated rate on our
advertising
page. If your event is for charity then we will charge only 50 per cent
of the
stated advertising rate.
To contact
Martial News: email:
You can also Facebook
us at:
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Every
Friday - 7.30pmWillowburn
Sports Centre, Alnwick
Email: phil.doherty@hotmail.co.uk
MARTIAL
NEWS

The
House
of
Budo
www.martialnews.co.uk
The Region's Own
Online Newspaper
Dedicated To All Martial Arts
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