Community Journalism

The Bristol Cable's entire organisational structure is based on the idea of Engaged Journalism. The company's legal form as a co-operative and Registered Community Benefit Society guarantees members a say in decisions affecting the operational and strategic side of the business. At an Annual General Meeting but also throughout the year members can vote on important decisions regarding the organisation, e.g. who should be accepted as a funder or advertiser, how the Cable should use Facebook or how the core funding should be used.

But first and foremost, of course, Bristol Cable's aim with this model is to get people involved in journalism.

The Bristol Cable editorial team regularly uses callouts, i.e. surveys in the community, to ask for opinions, experiences or data from the community. These surveys are a central component of the Cable’s community strategy. They not only help the editorial team to find topic ideas, but also to find protagonists for stories, get important insights from people in the community or better assess the opinions in the community. Based on answers to surveys, articles are created and the editorial team finds research approaches and access to sources.

The Cable also provides workshops to members, as well as regular public events addressing the most pressing issues in Bristol.

Members of the community are also regularly invited to contribute articles themselves. In a series called "Voices", they can describe their personal views on social issues or news in the city.