Dublin Inquirer (Ireland)

Summary

The Dublin Inquirer, established in 2015 by Lois Kapila and Sam Tranum, stands as an independent, public-interest newsroom based in Dublin, Ireland. It specializes in publishing in-depth stories both online and in a monthly print edition, delving into local issues such as housing, transport, and politics. Through civic tech projects, events, and surveys, the newsroom actively involves its community.

Despite facing financial hurdles and operating with a limited staff, the Dublin Inquirer sustains its operations primarily through subscriptions, with additional support from grants allocated for specific projects.

Innovatively, the Dublin Inquirer goes beyond traditional storytelling by incorporating civic tech initiatives such as a bike collision tracker. By providing digital tools and data, the publication aims to enhance the lives of individuals within its community, showcasing a commitment to journalistic innovation and community engagement.

Overview

Name	Dublin Inquirer
Website	https://dublininquirer.com
Location / Location of coverage	Dublin City / Fingal
Size of potential audience / town region covered	592,000 people living in Dublin; 1,2 million in the wider agglomeration
Year they started publishing	2015
Language	English
Mission Statement	Dublin Inquirer is an independent, subscriber-funded newspaper serving Ireland's capital since 2015, publishing weekly online and in print monthly.

Management and team

Founders	Lois Kapila, Sam Tranum
Current management team	Lois Kapila, Sam Tranum
Team	Full-time employees: 4 journalists Part-time employees: 1 (for backoffice and admin) Freelancers or consultants: 1 regular freelancer (covering immigration), 2-3 irregular freelancers Volunteers: people contributing as part of single projects

Governance Structures

Legal form of company	Private Company Limited by Shares (LTD)
Tax status	for-profit

Products & Revenue Streams

Main products	Website, Print Edition, Newsletter; stories are seen as the product
Additional products
Audience and community reach	Facebook: 14.000 Instagram: 7.087 Mastodon: 2.800 TikTok: 511 Bluesky: 1.200 X: 20.175
Most important community engagement format	Direct collaboration for projects Events
Revenue streams	180,000 yearly revenue, mainly from subscriptions (80%) and grants (15-20%), individual donations or sponsoring make up only a fraction of the revenue. 1,900 paying subscribers = 12,400 € / month

On the next pages you can read our in-depth portrait about the Dublin Inquirer. If you want to jump into a specific topic directly, here's the overview for you:

How the Dublin Inquirer started

Read the founding story of the Inquirer

Products

Read about Dublin Inquirer's most important (journalistic) products

Revenue Streams & Finance

Read about how the Dublin Inquirer earns money

Community Journalism

Read about how the Dublin Inquirer engages its Community

Biggest Challenges

Read about challenges and barriers the Inquirer is facing

Success Factors

Read about the Dublin Inquirer's biggest factors for success