Photo: The Leicester Gazette’s AGM was held on Thursday, 6 March (image: Devon Winters / Leicester Gazette)
A Midlands-based co-operative is aiming to counter clickbait by putting a firm emphasis on quality journalism.
But just two days before the recent local elections in Leicestershire, its Facebook account was “permanently suspended”. Following a storm of protest, the account has since been restored with Meta attributing the suspension to an “error” on their part.
But the ban has spurred members and supporters on to launch a new crowdfunder campaign aimed at launching a print version of the paper at the end of this year.
Journalist Rhys Everquill, who works three days a week for the Gazette, is currently the only staffer – although there are several freelancers, contributors and lots of community activists involved in the project. “Thankfully, the Meta account has been restored,” he says, “but it raises an important issue: How can we trust platforms that can silence us at any moment? We’re now on a mission to build a people-powered press free from big tech, hold those in power accountable and amplify the voices of marginalised communities while finding real solutions to the challenges we face.”
Related: Media co-op looks to revive local journalism in Leicester
Officially registered as a co-op in January 2023, the media initiative was launched online two months later after a successful crowdfunding campaign and support from Central Co-op.
Rhys’s co-founders are editor Emma Guy and academic Megan Lupton, who is currently studying the ethics of true crime podcasts.
It originally operated under the name Great Central Gazette before rebranding as Leicester Gazette in September 2024 to better reflect its expanded coverage of Leicester and Leicestershire.
Completely ad-free, the online paper relies on membership support rather than corporate or political funding. There are currently around 100 co-op members and the crowdfunder campaign (which is currently just shy of £2,000) is aiming to raise £8000 to fund a print version of the newspaper. So who reads it?
“We have a general audience from all walks of life with a particular emphasis on reaching marginalised and disadvantaged communities,” says Everquill. “Our membership is mainly individuals who pay to support the work we do. Since our launch, over 110,000 different individuals have read our stories, and our biggest platform is Reddit. When we looked at the analytics, we had 2.3 million hits over a 12-month period.”
A freelancer for six years, Everquill has worked in different media sectors and is a former community organiser for the Independent Media Association, a co-op comprising 75 different organisations, advocating for media free from corporate and state control, as well as offering resources, training, and events.
“It’s all very personal to me,” he adds. “I could go out and get a full-time job on a major newspaper but I wouldn’t feel I was making an impact in the same way as I can make a difference locally. We pay a decent wage and I have enough to live on and do what I want to do.”
The Gazette has three core team members with responsibility on a day-to-day basis, plus a host of volunteers and freelancers who write and help with marketing and admin as well as pitching story ideas. Its editorial team meets up every Thursday at its studio space in a local art gallery.
In the two years since it was launched, the Leicester Gazette has tackled some major investigations, exposing unsafe and unethical housing practices by rogue landlords, leading to legal action and policy changes. It has also looked at how local government funds were allocated, prompting accountability measures to be introduced, reported on illegal waste dumping and its impact on wildlife and public health, and highlighted movements led by Leicester residents fighting for better public services, workers’ rights, and social justice.
The Gazette was also cited in Parliament for raising questions about a controversial contract between Leicestershire Police and American software company Palantir regarding its involvement with US military contracts and government surveillance.
Its wide-ranging remit is “basically anything that is in the public interest,” says Everquill, from local politics to, arts, culture and history with lots of news and in-depth features.
“Our local paper is the Leicester Mercury which is owned by the media giant Reach, and people are always complaining about the number of ads it has.”
As an alternative, they wanted an independent platform for their reporting.
The print version of the Gazette is set to be launched in December, with plans for more editions at least three times a year and maybe quarterly or more if things go well. Although the online version remains free of ads, it is hoped the print publication will feature ads from major players like the Co-op Group, along with smaller co-ops and social enterprises.
“Our aim is for the advertising to cover the print costs,” says Everquill. “It’s about our social mission and reaching people and as long as the ads fit our ethical policy and can pay for the print edition to go out we are happy with that model.
“It’s going to be a magazine-type newspaper with a mixture of stuff that has happened in the last few months, reflective stuff that has a long shelf life. It will look and feel like a newspaper.”
The plan is that by December 2026 there will have been several successful editions with a 5,000 print run (same as the Mercury) and that enough funding will have been raised to take things further with more regular editions.
The online team is also aiming to introduce local communities to more ethical social media platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky, which has gained millions of followers since billionaire Elon Musk bought out Twitter and renamed it X.
“It’s an uphill battle,” Everquill admits. “There are a lot of obstacles in the way and no one has tried this for many years but I am optimistic about the direction we are trending in.
“I think in the years to come we will see a renaissance of independent publishers and new publications as various publishers gain some ground again. I hope we can get some funding from the government, and run annual crowdfunding and seek grants from various organisations – right now we are 80% grant funded.
“But this campaign is not just about raising funds: it’s about reclaiming our stories and empowering our community. We believe in a journalism model that is accountable to the people, not to algorithms. Every contribution, no matter how small, will help us move closer to a future where local voices are heard and really valued.”
