Local Edition

Local Edition has now ceased publication after being unable to sustain funding in the long term. It was a very successful project and the team, and the communities of Northern Stoke, gained a great deal from its short but energetic life.

The editor would like to warmly thank everybody who made a wide variety of contributions to the newspaper.

The following report was produced after six months of production and gives an insight into the needs and benefits of a project like this. If our experience can be of any assistance to people thinking about starting a similar project, please feel free to email questions to editor @ localedition.org.uk.


Local Edition has published its first six month report.

The report, 'Can a newspaper make a difference' demonstrates the impact that this new social enterprise has had on the northern communities of Stoke-on-Trent as well as outlining where the project will go from here.

Summary of points

Local Edition was launched in response to a lack of basic information and communication opportunities in an area of high intervention in Stoke-on-Trent.

Local Edition seeks to counter a culture of limited information, segregation and voicelessness and to build bridges between different communities, organisations and businesses.

Its important difference from all other newspapers in the area, and the vast majority in the country, is its not-fot-profit status. It is one of only five Community Interest Companies registered in Stoke-on-Trent.

While the paper seeks to put forward a positive view of our area, it is no PR machine: it channels local anger in constructive ways, encouraging individual empowerment and helping to hold organisations to account. Our first priority has been to establish a place for Local Edition in the community, finding our readership everywhere that people have a few minutes to read.

Now that it has strong positive feedback and a regular place in the reading habits of the community, it needs to build its sustainability and increase participation amongst more target groups.

“In a nutshell, Local Edition is keeping people’s spirits up!”

A few of our outcomes to date:
• improve information about this area that is acccessible to everybody
• provide a communication opportunity for individuals, organisations and businesses
• raise the self-esteem of the area through a positive, constructive medium that feels positive about its environment
• raise the profile of community activities, encouraging people to get involved and improving people’s views of what is happening in the local area
• develop and encourage citizen journalism skills including photography, public questioning and use of free online tools including blogs and wikis.
• provide valuable work experience for youth and those looking at new career options
• provide a forum for self-expression and the sharing of expertise within our communities
• provide the area and its people - plus visitors and outsides - with a colourful, scrapbook-type ‘mirror’ that shows it to be a vibrant, positive place
• development of a wide audience, including those with low literacy or English-language skills who may not otherwise access information from local agencies
• showcase different towns to people who may have stopped visiting them
• develop direct relationships with readers and potential contributors
• build insights into the communities and gather news and material that could not be done from a newsroom

Short term areas of development and improvement
• appoint a management committee to steer strategy and provide accountability for the social objectives of the newspaper
• start the newspaper’s workshop programme and other projects to widen participation and increase citizen journalism skills, self-expression and transferable skills across our communities
• expand sponsorship by local organisations and businesses with a target of financial sustainability within three months
• develop contributor network to ensure we are covering more news from across the area and all its community groups, businesses and agencies
• develop special regular sections including more business news, regeneration updates and sections of interest to advertisers and consumers. Continue responding to community feedback to build on the paper’s initial loyal following.
• increase people-power with a greater freelance budget and structured volunteer programmes in order to increase the uality of editorial, particularly in the areas of news and and investigation.
• explore options for widening access to the newspaper for those with disabilities and language barriers

Local Edition is the first project of Social Media Community Interest Company, which has been set up to develop publications to meet specific social needs and develop community participation in different media platforms. In setting up the company, editor Clare-Marie White received an Unltd Millennium award, which provides “practical and financial support to social entrepreneurs in the UK; people with vision, passion, drive and commitment” (quote from their website).