As a business and within each area that we establish a publication, we will always:

Promote the local economy

• Use local sources of employment, skills, training, talent, supply chain and services wherever possible
• Pro-actively encourage a more circular local economy, offering a platform for SMEs to reach customers nearby and for residents to use local alternatives to online retail, ensuring as much money as possible stays within the community
• We support strong creative and night-time economies and will explore innovative visions for sustainable high streets, low/zero-carbon transportation and data-driven decisions and improvements

 

Engage equally with all members of neighbourhood’s community

• Improve intergenerational communication via shared a shared involvement in local issues
• Facilitate the exchange of truthful, accurate information and ideas on and off our platforms
• Offer meaningful participatory opportunities to locals of all ages
• Strengthen media literacy and content creation skills by demonstrating quality control and fact-checking practice throughout production and consumption of our work

Lead a culture-first agenda

• Pro-actively support the unique cultural institutions, existing artistic legacy and all the creativite individuals found in each area we operate
• Our editorial policy always focuses on positive storytelling about the people, places and initiatives in an area
• We partner with existing charity and youth programmes on building a new kind of multimedia local newsroom with an aim to give meaningful media training opportunities to the next generation, in investigative and opinion-based journalism

Support the very best environmental practices

This should go without saying, but our specific policies include:

• Use of 100% recycled newsprint for our physical publications
• Electric vehicles and e-cargo-bikes for distribution
• Website to run on clean energy data centres
• Continually pushing our suppliers to reduce their own environmental impact
• Support of sympathetic regeneration projects with eco credentials at their heart, and sustainable heritage informing their future

Collectively build a new local media model

• Ensure that any new title we launch is a sustainable community asset with a long-term future
• Involve our readers intrinsically in the editorial process via meetings, forums and feedback
• Pioneer new ownership models that allow communities to benefit from sponsorship by key local stakeholder businesses without compromising editorial integrity
• Use the very latest data insights and new technologies for public good
• Challenge old working practices by partnering with our rivals, and connecting private, public and community level entrepreneurs for initiatives that directly invest in local development