The Bristol Cable (England)
Summary
The Bristol Cable is a pioneering community media from Bristol (UK), organised as a cooperative which is owned by nearly 3,000 members. Since 2014 the Cable has been producing in-depth local journalism online and in a quarterly print edition.
The Bristol Cable’s mission has always been to democratise the media industry, facing a situation in the UK in which five large conglomerates have divided up the entire media landscape among themselves, right down to the local level.
The organisation as a cooperative, in which members not only make a financial contribution but also actively shape the company as shareholders, is regarded as an example of community journalism taken to its logical conclusion and has attracted worldwide attention in the media industry.
With the development of its own open source membership platform, The Bristol Cable has also set the tone for the media’s independence from large online platforms.
Name
The Bristol Cable
Website
https://thebristolcable.org/
Location / Location of coverage
Bristol, United Kingdom
Size of potential audience/ town region covered
472,000 population
Year they started publishing
2014
Language
English
Mission statement
Our four main principles are: creating Ethical Journalism and remaining Community Focused and, through that work, Holding Power to Account and Creating Change.
Founders
Alec Saelens, Adam Cantwell-Corn, Alon Aviram
Current management team
Board of directors which is staffed with 10 Cable members who were elected at the Annual General Meeting; Secretary of the Board: Elizabeth Mizon;
Team
Full-time employees: 7
Part-time employees: 3
Legal form of company
Cooperative / Registered Community Benefit Society, owned and supported by member-owners in Bristol
Tax status
non-profit
Main products
Website and quarterly print edition
Additional products
Podcast
Audience and community reach
Members: 2,500 - 3,000
Newsletter subscribers: ???
Social Media reach:
Facebook: 13,000 followers
Instagram: 4,000 followers
Twitter: 15,000 followers
Most important community engagement format
Callouts
Revenue streams
membership contributions (35%)
grants (60%)
non-corporate advertising (5%)
Get involved:
or or
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