Help keep real journalism going for the price of a coffee

If you wonder why some of the local news you read is not very interesting and all sounds the same, you’re not alone.

Much of the material you see consists of PR handouts, many from local councils and the police, which are copied and pasted to fill the gaps between the ads. No further questions are asked.

This is where the Eastbourne Reporter is different.

I am an experienced journalist and I think Eastbourne deserves better. Three years ago, I started this website to asks questions, interview people and research what’s important to the community. In fact, to report on news as it used to be covered.

And the way it used to be covered is highlighted here, where I wrote about how I found a 30-year-old copy of the local newspaper. It was packed with news you never read about now except all this stuff is still happening.

The big challenge is how to create a viable news website when people think that news if ‘free’. Proper reporting is not free and is time-consuming. Who pays for it? How can we fund it?

Who we are and what we do

We are a Community Interest Company, a non-profit organisation, which is run in the interests of Eastbourne. There are no shareholders and no one’s going to get rich from this; it is also free to read and free to subscribe.

We do not currently take advertising: we know those invasive ads on news websites are teeth-clenchingly annoying. We are also unlikely to clickbait you onto a link which turns out to be a tale from Shepton Mallet or Shanghai.

However, we do need to pay people a fair rate for what they do via reader support and that is still not possible.

So far, 63,000 people have read the website. They have read stories we were the first to report on, including: 

-  The deaths of two people placed in an Eastbourne hotel as temporary accommodation by Brighton and Hove City Council

-  A report from a scrutiny meeting where the Eastbourne council leader was in the hot seat over the procurement process to operate the Sovereign Centre and asked why it took a campaign by residents for the council to apparently change its mind

-  An analysis of Eastbourne Borough Council’s £194 million debt and how it was amassed

The challenge we face

But out of these 63,000, only 40 people are prepared to pay the price of a coffee a month to support us: this is about £130 and covers the basic running costs.

We now have a Patrons scheme for organisations to support us with at least £100 a month to show their logo and a statement of support for independent news on the website. The first two patrons – the Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce and Tech Resort – now allow me to be paid just two days a month at below-market-rate of £15 per hour. Several other people with expertise volunteer their time because they too believe in impartial, independent original reporting.

I have been working two to three days a week unpaid for three years to establish the Eastbourne Reporter. This cannot continue.

As we go into our fourth year, I will be working for the two paid days a month to keep it running for now and, perhaps, write or edit a simple community feature. If we cannot secure more support from readers or patrons, it is unlikely we can continue.

How you can help

The investigative, in-depth nature of the reporting I have been doing takes time and resources so will be on hold until there are more members / patrons and funding.  

You can subscribe for free here but please also buy us the equivalent of a caffeine shot, or even coffee and cake if you can manage. One-off donations are very welcome here. If your organisation or company would like to find out about becoming a patron, please contact us: admin@eastbournereporter.co.uk

Come and meet us!

We are a member of the Public Interest News Foundation, which lobbies for funding for local journalism, and are taking part in their Indie News Week promotion next week.

We will be in Eastbourne Library on Friday, 13 June, from 1000 to 1300 for a drop-in chat to meet people and find out what they want from local news coverage.

If you like what you’ve read on our website, your modest help could ensure genuine reporting continues in Eastbourne.

Every little really DOES help. We look forward to meeting you.