Stay positive: News magazine relaunches as bencom

Twenty-two years after its inception Positive News is becoming a community benefit society. The magazine, billed as ‘the world’s first publication dedicated to reporting positive developments’, launched a £300,000 share...

Twenty-two years after its inception Positive News is becoming a community benefit society. The magazine, billed as ‘the world’s first publication dedicated to reporting positive developments’, launched a £300,000 share offer on June 8.

Formerly a not-for-profit social enterprise, it had relied on financial support from members and a small number of donors close to its late founder, Shauna Crockett-Burrows, who died in 2012. These donations decreased significantly last August following the death of its main benefactor.

Positive News editor-in-chief Seán Dagan Wood said the quality of the magazine and its profile were improving, but finance had been challenging.

“We’ve made significant progress in putting the company in a better financial position, having wiped out debts, cut costs, increased efficiency and begun developing plans for a new way forward,” he said. “However, while we were still in transition we remained reliant on donations. Without our benefactor our future looked bleak.

“Last August we appealed to our readers, who donated the funds to keep us going in the short term. We were asking for time to come back with a proposal for a sustainable future, and that’s what we now have. If this share offer isn’t successful, there will be no more editions of Positive News as our current business model is no longer viable.”

The minimum investment for shareholders is £50 and the maximum is £100,000. Share capital will help cover production costs for at least a year while Positive News builds its team, develops a new website, relaunches its print edition and expands its market and income streams. Every additional £20,000 will cover another edition.

There will be new services including events, a spin-off business selling content to other media organisations and media training in partnership with the Constructive Journalism Project.

Shareholders will have an equal vote on matters including electing a board of directors. Profits will be reinvested in achieving the co-op’s aims and serving its members.

“Most of the news media in the UK is owned by a handful of corporations and proprietors,” Mr Dagan Wood said. “As a co-operative, Positive News will be owned by hundreds or even thousands of people.

“We’ll be accountable to our readers, ensuring that we always report of their interests. Shareholders will help us secure our future and flourish. Together we can change the news for good.”

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