As regular readers might know, I write articles for and I am on the committee of my local paper, The Bentham News. This month's edition marks the 37th anniversary of the BN, a community publication that is produced and delivered free by an army of volunteers to over 2000 households in and around Bentham, North Yorkshire.
It's a 'proper' local publication. There are articles on local news and history, gardening and nature features, a handy 'What's On' guide and even a local social media roundup.
"So what?" I hear you ask. "Local paper, been around a while, seems well liked what's the problem?"
Well perhaps unsurprisingly, its money. Up until the pandemic the BN broke even. The income from advertising covered the expenses of production, the lion's share of which are the printing costs. However, post covid as costs have increased, advertising revenue has not kept pace. This means that the BN is now making a loss every month.
No doubt there will be varied opinions at this news. Some of you won't care a bit, so if that's you I guess you should save a bit of time and not bother with the rest of this blog! Some of you will be concerned and I hope that's most of you.
The big question is of course "What are you going to do about it?" Well, there are a few things we are looking at, but you don't need to have a degree in Advanced Economics to know, we need to lower our costs and increase our revenue.
"What's it got to do with me then?" is the obvious next question.
If you're a local, then it might mean the end of the BN in its current form. That would be a huge shame as it's a full colour 48-page monthly publication that is pretty much unique in the local area. Settle has a similar publication, but it only appears bi-monthly. Other villages only have a paper newsletter, and some have only a website with no physical publication at all.
If you live in some other part of the universe, then you might be thinking "what a shame for your rural market town." Nevertheless, you can still read the BN via our website for free. The website includes a directory of our advertisers and an archive of past editions going back to 2013. Just because you're not lucky enough to live in Bentham, you don't have to miss out.
"Ok then you've made your case, but what can I do?" A fair question. There are a few ways that you can support the BN.
- Pay for it! We really want to ensure that the BN remains free for local households. But if you can afford it, we would welcome a donation of £1 for an issue. There is a collection tin in Bentham Post Office and there will be details in the November issue of how to donate by bank transfer.
- Subscribe. For those of you that don't live locally, you can have a copy delivered in the post every month. We even deliver a copy to Italy! Contact the BN team via the website.
- Place an ad. If you have a business, then why not advertise with us from as little as £18. We reach over 2000 local households; we can even help design the ad.
Let's all of us make sure that the Bentham News is still here in another 37 years!
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