Our Story
The Cable is not your average newspaper.
In 2014, the UK’s journalism industry was at rock bottom. 2012’s Leveson Inquiry report revealed systemic, decades-long criminality by the tabloid press in order to get ever-more sensational ‘scoops’ to sell papers.
Trust in the corporate-owned press was at an all time low, at a time when papers really needed it – their business model was in freefall, as internet firms were scooping up the ad revenue. Local investigative journalism was the first to take the hit, and had been extinct for some time.
A small group of volunteers in Bristol decided to do something about the failures of corporate-owned local media – they organised, crowdfunded, and built a reader owned new-media outlet: The Bristol Cable.
As a result, Bristol now has its own investigative newspaper, 100% owned by thousands of local people, free to access for all in digital and print.
For almost a decade, our membership model has allowed us to focus on long-term, groundbreaking investigations rather than breaking news that relies on clicks for revenue. Together, we hold power to account through groundbreaking investigations, campaign for change, and amplify marginalised voices.
We are rooted in local communities, but we’re also a leader in the global movement to reinvent the media industry as a sustainable, democratic public service.
We can’t do it without you.
