We’re proud to announce that The Greenwich Wire is taking part in the first ever Indie News Week. That means now is a good time to support us with a one-off donation – because all new donations this month will be matched by the Indie News Fund. Founder and editor DARRYL CHAMBERLAIN explains.
If you live in SE London, you don’t need me to tell you about the collapse of local news. The Greenwich Mercury closed in 2019, the Greenwich and Lewisham editions of the News Shopper went in 2020, and if you can find an original Greenwich story in the South London Press, which now has to cover 15 boroughs (seriously), then buy a lottery ticket because it’s clearly your lucky week.
It’s a similar story across much of the capital, but the south-east boroughs are particularly badly hit, with our neighbours in Lewisham given official “news desert” status by the Public Interest News Foundation, which is organising Indie News Week. The slogan: no news is bad news.
Amid the wreckage, we’re still here – telling you what’s happening at the council, trying to get answers, and coming up with stories the others simply can’t or won’t do any more.
I’m honoured to say The Greenwich Wire has about 170 members paying into the site regularly – a brilliant achievement amid the cost of living crisis. A few more make very generous one-off donations. About 1,400 people are getting our stories – and bonus Sunday newsletter – by email.
For that, this website has one part-time employee on the payroll – me. I dig into council agendas, I talk to people, I ask questions, I sit through some very long meetings late into the evening. Out of it, you get news you won’t read elsewhere – the kind of news that isn’t appearing in our neighbouring boroughs. And I’ll throw some fun, simple stuff in too.
But the finances are still tight. I work elsewhere to make ends meet; if I take a break, the site takes a break too. There are a lot of smaller, lighter stories that we miss because of this.
And I have to contend with the unreliability of the tech giants too: Facebook is now degrading news content, Twitter/X doesn’t like external links either, and Google search is a choppy ride these days.
That’s where Indie News Week comes in. We’re taking part in a pan-London event this evening at Goldsmiths University in New Cross to discuss the capital’s local news scene (free tickets still available!).
But we’re also taking part in the Indie News Fund. Put simply – for every new pound you give us in the month of June, the Indie News Fund will match it. I’m aiming to raise £1,200, which will go towards paying a freelance journalist to dig deep into issues around housing in Greenwich, the number one crisis facing our borough at the moment. Can you help us with a one-off payment, or if you’ve not signed up yet, a new regular donation? If so, please consider helping us, because your money will go so much further this month.
(If you’re already a supporter and want to add a one-off sum, you can log in to your account here – thank you!)
In the words of PINF’s director, Jonathan Heawood: “The No News is Bad News campaign is founded on the belief that a well-informed community is more able to act together to shape its own future, that local news is fundamental to a healthy democratic society and invaluable in helping to create strong communities.
“Despite this, independent community news providers are struggling to generate enough revenue to carry out their invaluable work, putting local democracy, civic engagement and community cohesion at risk.”
To find out more about Indie News Week, visit the PINF website. And, as always, thank you for your support.
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