Dan Hayes left the Sheffield Star five years ago to build something Sheffield was missing: properly funded, properly reported local journalism with the time to get stories right. Today the Sheffield Tribune has 40,000 readers, 3,200 paying members, and a shortlist nomination for Private Eye's Paul Foot Award — the most prestigious prize in UK investigative journalism. This is the story of how he did it. The Investigations In this episode Dan talks through the Tribune's two biggest investigations. The Leadmill story, which after months of reporting changed how Sheffield saw the campaign to save one of its most iconic venues. And the Andrew Milne investigation, the leasehold scandal where Sheffield homeowners were sent legal demands — facing legal threats before publication, taking reporters door-knocking through Bradway in the rain, and ending in an arrest. Dan explains what standing firm against legal pressure costs, even when you win. Why He Left The Star They also cover why the Tribune's model works when local newspapers are failing, what it takes to build a newsroom from scratch, and the moment that made leaving The Star feel like the only option: being asked to write about a sausage sandwich with marmalade on it because it had been mentioned on BBC Breakfast. Sum Up Sheffield Dan lands on three words: friendly, humble and hilly. He talks about his first weekend in the city, a conversation with strangers on the top deck of a Pitsmoor bus, and why Sheffield's near pathological humility might be both its greatest quality and its biggest missed opportunity. Straight Outta Sheffield Dan goes back to Sheffield Arena in 1995, watching Oasis supported by Pulp, two months before Common People made Jarvis Cocker a household name. Thirty years later he lives at Park Hill, works at Leah's Yard, and writes about the city every week. REYT. Good Recommendations — Dan Hayes Best pub: Hop Hideout, Leah's Yard. Jules Grey's bottle shop and bar underneath the Tribune's office.Best place to eat: 5tara Indian Street Food, Shalesmore. Vada pav — a potato patty with fried green chillies — was Anthony Bourdain's favourite food in the world.Best independent shop: Shaw's Ironmongers, Duchess Road. If it's not in Shaw's, it doesn't exist.Favourite thing to do: Walk the Rivelin Valley or Stanage Edge. Dan took 25 journalists to walk the Rivelin last year. None could get their heads around how beautiful it was.Sheffield hidden gem: Burritos y Mas, Orchard Square. Run by Hector Hernandez from Colombia. Always a queue out of the door.Support the Sheffield Tribune The Tribune turns five this month and is looking for 1,000 new members. Join at any price, including free, at sheffieldtribune.co.uk About REYT. REYT. is Sheffield's independent weekly podcast and the Sheffield podcast for people who want to know everything about the Steel City. Hosted by James Hargreaves — lifelong Sheffielder, Sheffield Forum custodian and local media broadcaster — and powered by Sheffield Forum, the UK's longest-running city community online since 2002. Sheffield Forum has 210,000 members, 150,000 newsletter subscribers, 400,000 monthly page views and 50,000 social media followers. REYT. is its voice. Every episode features three things: Sum Up Sheffield, where guests describe the city to someone who has never been; Straight Outta Sheffield, where they share the moment they found something Sheffield somewhere unexpected; and REYT. Good Recommendations, their personal picks for Sheffield's best pubs, places, independent shops and hidden gems. New episodes every week. Follow free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Amazon Music, or search REYT. Independent Sheffield Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Full episode, show notes and community discussion at sheffieldforum.co.uk/reyt For Everything Sheffield.
