Your say / Bristol24/7
On the frontline of local democracy
2024 is set to be a big year for democracy. At the time of writing (April 2024), the local elections are imminent and my letterbox is experiencing a near constant influx of leaflets promoting the ambitious visions and plans of various councillors.
Later this year, Britain will go to the polls to decide who will be in government for the next five years.
But how do we decide who we should vote for? How do we hold these politicians to account? How do we examine the track record of candidates and their parties to decide if they are worthy of our trust?
is needed now More than ever
In March, William Hague wrote in The Times that “the death of local papers threatens democracy” and his admission couldn’t be more timely. Let me tell you in plain English, from inside the world of local news: Local papers are dying, or worse, they are being bought or incorporated into national or international media conglomerates who do a bad job of disguising press releases and national stories as ‘local news’.
Bristol24/7 is always happy to join in the dogs at polling stations trend – photo: Ellie Pipe
Our team of 13 is up against Meta, who have de-priotised news on their sites. We’re up against Google, who will always put the BBC ahead of us in search results. We’re up against said national media brands, who have centralised teams to send out press releases en masse, but also to do all the stuff that can end up taking lots of time, like HR, accounting and operations.
Hague wrote “When Britain holds a general election this year, few of the candidates will need to worry about an authoritative local paper holding them to account. Out of 380 local authority districts, 209 had a daily local paper in 2007, but only 142 still had one in 2019, and that figure will be much lower now.”
Not in Bristol. Here we are very lucky; we have two independent news outlets. Bristol24/7 and the Bristol Cable both exist to serve Bristol and Bristol alone. Most cities do not have the luxury of such a choice. But every day we are fighting to survive.
The need to preserve independent local voices like Bristol24/7’s becomes stark when democratic decisions are to be made. In the past few years, Bristol24/7 has hosted mayoral hustings, written full ward profiles, elections explainers, interviewed the public and followed candidates. All of this is a reliable source of trusted information when decisions are to be made, but arguably the most important role of local newspapers comes after a councillor, mayor or MP is elected.
Labour leader Keir Starmer joins Damien Egan at his old school, Hanham Woods Academy – photo: Ellie Pipe
Our reporting on issues such as Bristol’s infamous public transport system, the amount of money spent on Bristol Beacon, the building of new homes and how many air miles our mayor racks up, for example, all enable our community to make informed decisions when voting. It is our role to hold our local government to account, and to provide you accurate and up to date information on their decisions and actions.
As well as reporting on those in power, we provide a platform for voices around the city. Anyone can write for us about issues in their area. We employ Community Reporters to report on communities traditionally underserved by mainstream media, in an effort to balance the narrative. This space allows us to understand our city beyond our immediate echo chamber.
Hague went on to write: “Local newspapers have been virtually destroyed without adequate replacements. It’s in all our interests to do something about it.”
So I implore you – join us in the fight for democracy. Join us in fighting against the rising tide of “zombie newspapers”, against Meta having a monopoly on the news that you see. Join us in prioritising local news when the tech giants are trying to squash it.
By subscribing to our free daily newsletter, we can send you the news directly and not have to rely on the tech gods favouring our content. That helps a lot.
But the best way to support us is by becoming a member. Become part of our community of over 1,000 individuals who pay £5 a month or £45 to make sure that we can keep our paper local and independent. The support of members keeps us in the fight and makes our daily operations possible.
If you care about Bristol, you’ll recognise how important it is for our city to have independent and authoritative local voices. But local news won’t continue to exist without your support. So if you want to keep reading Bristol24/7 for years to come, then as William Hague wrote – do something about it.
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
Read next:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
