Former local newspaper editor David Scott decided to go it alone and set up his own PR/Specialist Publication firm in the summer of 2003. He was editor of the Fife Herald and St Andrews Citizen for almost 10 years, having started his career as a junior reporter in Cupar. If he was being totally honest, he would admit that he didn’t enjoy being an editor and “chained” to an office desk for sometimes 15 hours a day. “As a reporter and chief reporter (Fife Herald and East Fife Mail), it was great to get out and about, interview people and report on the courts and council meetings. I can now do that again – although after a few months I decided to abandon news agency work which was taking up too much time with little reward.”

Before he formed Links Media he was well experienced in page make-up, using the industry standard program Quark Xpress, but since then he has developed his skills to also embrace the opportunities offered by Photoshop. First venture of Links Media was a full colour, 24-page booklet devoted to his home town of Cupar. The publication was very well received and was followed by similar booklets on the East Neuk and the Howe of Fife and Fife Tay Coast. From this, commissions followed for booklets on the West Fife Villages and Glenrothes and surrounding villages, the latter launched this month (May).

The Glenrothes booklet is the most involved and took some seven months to write and produce the 40 pages, which include a large aerial photo which folds out from the cover. It has a print run of 20,000 copies and has been compiled for Glenrothes Area Local Forum, with support from Fife Council, the Kingdom of Fife Tourist Board (now Visit Scotland) and the Kingdom Shopping Centre. The quality of his photos in the various booklets has also led to commissions, including a marketing company and care group. “I’ve always had an interest in photography and, as an editor, had a chance to see the best – and worst – of photos sent into the papers. It’s probably easier these days to produce a good photo in that you can take several shots of the one subject from various angles and at various settings without worrying about the cost and time of processing film.”

His journalistic background has also kept him busy over the past two years writing press releases for Elmwood College in Cupar, as well as copy writing for several companies and public sector organisations based in Fife and the Edinburgh area. Always keen to learn, he attended a short web design course at Abertay University and has since designed five sites, which he finds really rewarding.

His latest venture, which he launched at the recent Wedding Exhibition at the Rothes Halls in Glenrothes, is wedding booklets. The booklets focus on one wedding, with several stories of the ‘big day’ along with interviews of guests and a host of photos. Links Media also produce a special front page newspaper mock-up, detailing the highlights from the wedding. It’s certainly a bit different from the usual wedding album or video.

Most income is ploughed straight back into the business to acquire the latest technology – countless software programs, a multitude of printers, scanners and digital SLR camera equipment. Away from the office, David also found time to re-establish a new business group in Cupar which now has 47 members and attracted almost 100 to its meeting last month.

Links Media can be contacted on 01334 655808, email david@linksmedia.com

Links Media website can be found at www.linksmedia.com