The Bridge Berwick Match-Fund

No news is good news. Or is it?

Without news, how would you know about the issues affecting our community? How would you know what our local authorities were planning or whether they were acting legally? How would you know if your local environment was being impacted and by whom? And how would you know about the positive changes in your area, the success stories?

As long as you have a local independent news source in your area, your community can stay informed – but sadly, far too many news providers aren’t able to cover their costs, and have to shut down. Please support our local independent news provider today and keep our community in the know.

No news is bad news.

Hello, 

and thank you for stopping by this Crowdfunder page. 

I’m Wendy Robertson and I launched The Bridge in Berwick Upon Tweed after realising there was a real lack of local news and information in our beautiful and historic town. 

With a background in journalism and production, having trained at The Scotsman and worked in television, I saw that, as is the case across much of the UK, local news provision in Berwick Upon Tweed had disappeared. 

I had no idea that there would be more than one issue of The Bridge as there was no indication whether anyone would like it. I was extremely lucky that a number of subscribers, advertisers and a sponsor believed in the Bridge and came on board as soon as the paper appeared in print. 

These brave people ‘kept the presses rolling’ throughout the first months.

The Bridge Issue 1, February 2023:

Voice for Residents

As well as providing hyperlocal information, The Bridge has become a voice for Berwick, Spittal and Tweedmouth in many different ways;  from carrying letters and opinion pieces about the town, printing details of events, to helping out with solving problems highlighted by readers.

It’s important that people feel they are heard and can access local information as this is all vital for community cohesion, curing social isolation and correcting the democratic deficit which a lack of council coverage creates. 

It was important that The Bridge was a printed paper - to better serve the local demographic. And it was free for the first year.

World News

In a quirk of fate, The Bridge emerged at the same time as an international movement which is bringing back local reporting. This year saw the first Indie News Week organised by the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF). The Bridge was delighted to be hosted by Curiously Studio and Art Space in Church Street, Berwick in order to meet readers.  

Achievements

In its first months The Bridge:-

• has been used as a teaching resource in a local primary school
• was included in a time-capsule to mark the Coronation
• inspired publication of a new newsletter from Berwick Town Council
• helped another Borders hyperlocal new-launch with content
• was shortlisted for Publisher Newsletters Award, Best Local and Community Newsletter along with publications from around the world

https://publishernewsletters.com/2024/en/page/home

And the repeated comment: ‘It’s better than the ‘Tiser’ (local weekly, The Berwick Advertiser) has been a great compliment, especially to an incomer. Though there is room for all types of local coverage in Berwick. 

Without Fear or Favour

It’s vital that The Bridge is independent and covers all shades of opinion. This was the journalism in which I trained. We’ve published news, relaunched reporting on Berwick Town Council meetings, promoted events and independent businesses in Berwick Upon Tweed without bias. 

The Bridge has also saved the community £7,500 which was being paid by tax-payers to subsidise a local salary. Readers consistently comment that council coverage is what they value most about the newsletter content. 

There is scope for so much more.  

Funding a Secure Future

Funding so far has been in hand-to-mouth fashion. That means that the number of pages is limited so less content can be carried and the website still requires work. There has only been word-of-mouth promotion to date, so there are Berwickers who don't know about their new local news source. 

No-one involved in The Bridge content-creation has been paid since the launch.

It costs approximately £20,000 per year to produce a good newsletter, so we now seek funding to serve Berwick with a newsletter that has a secure future.

After The Bridge team has given so much to Berwick (including two weeks setting up this crowdfunder) it'll be great to have donations as a show of support. 

A pot of £2,000 is available from PINF in match funds. £200 was raised during Indie News Week earlier this month. 

The funds you help us to raise will go towards paying for :

• a Mac desktop computer to make editing and layout much easier than on a tiny laptop
• building a website
• fund transport to distribute The Bridge to more outlets and cover more events and stories
• a donation towards non-profit Curiously Studio in Berwick which kindly hosted The Bridge in Indie News Week
• fees and production expenses such as printing
• travel to the Publisher Newsletter Awards ceremony in London in July
• general promotion and events including a party to thank everyone who has supported The Bridge 

Believe in The Bridge …Believe in Berwick.

In the future The Bridge will carry out polls, publish profile pieces of local achievers, and promote journalism as a career, hopefully offering training to young people. 

The BIG DREAM is to have public premises with a café and community events based around words and writing. 

If one person with an idea can make this work, then think what the whole community can achieve together.  

Love for The Bridge

‘A well put together Informative, up-to-date newsletter with good varied and interesting content.’

Jennifer McLean

‘This is fantastic thing, genuinely useful and interesting. Recommend.’

Katie Vandyck

‘The Bridge is community-spirited and also has a certain intimate warmth to it, and it's named after what we feel is an iconic landmark of our beautiful town.’

Claire McIntosh 

‘Well done. This is all good journalism.’

Stephen Scott

‘I picked up one of your newsletters in the station waiting room today. A very interesting read,  especially reading about the new shops. I visit Berwick often and found this very useful.’

Allison Cosgrove

‘All strength to your organ – the Town Council’s Newsletter is a pale imitation, full of ‘official’ news!’

Colin Wakeling

‘A quick note to say keep up the good work. An interesting read.’

Jamie Davidson

‘It's amazing to have an independent press that can produce locally focussed investigative journalism.’ 

'Keep up your excellent work!'

Dennis Hush 

‘Another superb Bridge. We moved to this gorgeous historic town two years ago and would be left in the dark without you.’

Jo Batey

Big thanks to The Bridge regular contributors, David Foxton (Food…Not Recipes) and John Ferguson (Tweed Shipping Report). 

And to Alan Baxter, Drone Photography.