In the next few weeks, we will explain in more detail how each of the funding campaign choices we are offering can help everyone in our communities, beginning with our Membership scheme.
In keeping with much of the belt-tightening of recent years, businesses understandably consider advertising revenue as one of the costs they can reduce in harder times. For community newspapers across the country, as well as the media in general, this can often have serious, if not existential consequences. And while we’re not here to make money (we’re a not-for-profit community interest company, here to inform and support the community) like any other organisation, the lights only stay on if the bills are paid.
A revenue model that has become increasingly popular is the Membership scheme, which has been successfully adopted by large numbers of community newspapers across the globe. Membership schemes ask those who can afford it to help support the work their community newspaper is doing in keeping them informed of local events, reporting local issues, championing their communities and campaigning on their behalf.
And the beauty of our Membership scheme is that, at a starting point of just £2 per month, it can be affordable to most while ensuring that the small individual investment by members of the community, if made by enough people, will not only sustain the papers into the future, but will help us grow, provide new content on new platforms and, perhaps most importantly of all, help us to invest in our young people through employment as print and digital journalists.
Your £2 per month could see your child, relative or neighbour become the next generation’s local community journalist, fighting for your local causes and celebrating your positive stories through print, podcast or film, while living and working in the heart of the community they grew up in and love most. Not only working, but being paid to do the highly skilled job they always dreamed of doing without having to leave the community to do it.
That’s one indirect benefit to members but there are other direct benefits too. Members will receive their weekly paper (you can choose to receive the Chapter, the Town Crier, Bishop Press and/or Spennymoor News, any combination you would like) in digital format as soon as the final draft has been sent to print – at least 24 hours before the printed copy begins to drop through letterboxes. There are future benefits in the pipeline, such as ‘meet the newsroom’ events, once the scheme has proved successful.
For now, it’s about securing the future, which you can help do by becoming a member today. And one final thing we want to be clear about – your print newspaper is safe. We will always print the papers because we will not abandon the most isolated or vulnerable members of our communities. Your £2 per month will guarantee that promise.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
