The comments left below the Cable’s article on September’s anti-austerity march were the usual mix of those supportive of the protesters and those who thought it was all a waste of time. One commenter said the protesters should learn to ‘play the hand you were dealt’.

That sentiment obviously wasn’t shared by the 5,000-plus people who took to Bristol’s streets that day demanding change (despite there being varied opinions on the usefulness of demonstrations, or in this case, the strength of strategies put forward by the mayor).

Although a throwaway remark, the ‘play the hand you were dealt’ attitude – accepting the status quo as fixed – is the opposite of what this issue of the Cable’s all about.

We’re looking at the city’s change makers, past and present: from the early trade unionists who broke anti-worker rules in 19th century Bristol to bring about changes we all benefit from today, to the Street2Boardroom project giving young former street hustlers entrepreneurial know-how, to the Bristol Pound shaking up the financial system, and even the 1831 Bristol rioters. And much more.

In its own way the Cable is changing the rules. We aren’t accepting that media has to chase clicks and be controlled by disinterested investors. We are creating new rules, where journalism in the public interest is owned and led by those it serves. As members of the Cable, 1,800+ people are now ‘playing this hand’. Will you join in?

The Cable team