Welcome to your new Caterham and District Independent! My name is Louise D’Costa and I’m delighted to bring this much-missed local paper back to the borough of Tandridge.
I spent my childhood in Chaldon, my school days in Oxted and I now live in Old Coulsdon: I know the area well and I’ll be ensuring that you’re kept up-to-date with everything that’s happening where you live.
After leaving university I started in PR, before realising that my calling was in media. I moved to the BBC, working first in children’s television, then entertainment, drama and, finally, news.
I was an integral part of the newsroom for eight years, before taking up roles on the broadcaster’s flagship programmes Panorama and Newsnight.
It was a fast-paced, challenging setting but I got to utilise my writing talents as well as developing the logistical skills needed to handle assignments that included the safe transport of correspondents through high-risk countries, visa requirements, budgets and research.
I worked on major stories such as September 11th, the 2004 tsunami and Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. We were always under pressure but I thrived on the adrenaline surge that breaking news brings.
I stayed with the BBC for 18 years but the demanding nature of the job began to overtake the needs of my growing family. However, I wanted to remain in a news environment and so when I discovered that there was an opportunity to take over The Caterham and District Independent I felt an immediate connection.
There are existing online news sources for Caterham and its surrounding areas but my research revealed that there’s a large demographic who still wants a physical newspaper: something tangible that keeps them in touch with their community.
So that’s what I, and my amazing team, will be doing: bringing the news right to your front door.
We’ll include relevant national and international reporting but our focus will always be on what’s happening.
Environmental, educational, business or local events: if it’s important to you the Caterham and District Independent will cover it. Also because it’s your paper we’d love you to be involved. If there’s something you think we should feature or you’re a local business who’d like to advertise, we invite you to get in touch.
The Caterham and District Independent. Your Community. Your News. Your Paper.
