`Payments are taken by Social Streets CIC, The Slice’s publishing company.
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SINGLE DONATION
Prefer not to become a member? You can also support us with a single donation. You can choose the amount to donate, and the minimum donation is £15, one hour of a journalist’s time.
BECOME A PATRON OF OUR FELLOWSHIP SCHEME
We’re looking for patrons who believe in local news as much as we do and would like to sponsor journalism training for local young people, many of whom come from underrepresented backgrounds. For £3,000 you could sponsor one Fellow through our six-month Fellowship programme, providing them with one-to-one training, mentoring and support in finding a job in journalism, and helping to make the media more representative. To find out more about how the Fellowship works, contact Tabitha Stapely.
Why support local journalism
A recent Press Gazette report revealed the number of journalists employed by the UK’s three biggest newsgroups to work on regional and local publications dropped from 9,000 to 3,000 between 2007 and 2022.
Our not-for-profit social enterprise, our publisher Social Streets CIC is bringing local journalism back and developing a model of constructive local journalism that benefits the community. Since 2018, we’ve launched four online community news platforms for Tower Hamlets, and an over-arching print title. We employ locally-based journalists serving an area with a population of 310,000.
Without high-quality, independent journalism, residents are left in the dark about local politics, the local economy and the local people doing amazing things amid their ranks.
Who owns The Slice?
The Council? A media corporation? A political foundation? We are proud to say none of the above. The Slice Tower Hamlets magazine and its family of four online community news websites, Roman Road LDN, Whitechapel LDN, Poplar LDN and Bethnal Green LDN, is fiercely independent.
Our titles are published by Social Streets CIC, a not-for-profit news publishing organisation set up by resident and former magazine editor Tabitha Stapely who wanted to bring back local journalism, but better.
How are we funded?
In 2018, we launched on thin air using a free WordPress platform and contributions from local volunteer writers and photographers. We decided not to put our content behind a paywall, membership scheme or cover price as we believe the benefits of an independent news outlet should be available to everyone living in our area.
Instead, we launched a membership scheme to fund an editorial team of two overseeing all five titles.
A Fellowship programme pays for three part-time trainees who produce a weekly assignment (read a case study). A generous local supporter funds this, but this funding ends next year.
With only a tiny team of two to manage five publications. This means we have to run a tight ship relying on Freemiums, donated equipment and furniture, and content from the Fellowship scheme. Abbotts Interiors on Roman Road kindly provides free office space. Do pop by – you’ll find us at our laptops around a big pine dining table.
What is our income?
Despite running a tight ship, there is still a large shortfall. This year we expect to receive £14,400 in donations from 350 members. Until recently at least, our print advertising from small businesses covered the cost of our print publication.
This still requires the team to ‘work two jobs’ providing teaching, consultation and website design in the evenings to cross-subsidised our journalism work in Tower Hamlets.
What is our shortfall in 2024?
This year we are directly impacted by the difficult environment for small businesses and will have a shortfall in our budget of about £12,000.
We still firmly believe the membership model, which until recently was increasing steadily, is the fairest and most inclusive model to fund local journalism.
Safeguard local journalism by becoming a member. Your money will be spent on paying the London Living Wage for our journalists and not on bloated bonuses or running costs. If just 166 of our 35,000 regular readers contributed £6 per month – less than two coffees – it would cover our shortfall.
Help us keep the lights on and ensure Tower Hamlets retains its only dedicated, independent news outlet.