Help us to secure the future of the Brixton Bugle

Brixton Media, the publisher of the Brixton Bugle and Brixton Blog has launched a campaign to ensure the future of the Bugle.

Like every newspaper, the Bugle’s finances have been severely affected by the shift of advertising revenue to online platforms.

Most local newspapers – in South London and across the country – have had to close or severely restrict their operations.

We have been and remain profoundly grateful to those advertisers who have made it possible for us to publish more than 100 issues of the Bugle since June 2012.

The Bugle has been able to continue because it is produced almost entirely by unpaid volunteers. One or two contributors who need them receive very small token payments.

Brixton Media is a registered Community Interest Company, meaning that no-one associated with the company is able to profit from it.

However, lockdowns – when we did not publish the Bugle for two years – and increased costs in every area of newspaper production and distribution mean our revenue no longer matches our outgoings.

We suspended publication of our October and November issues in 2024 to avoid financial problems.

We are now seeking additional sources of funding and have made it possible for individuals to contribute online.

We are grateful for the offers of help with fundraising that we have already received, but are concentrating our efforts on establishing a sustainable future for the Bugle which needs a steady and foreseeable stream of income over a long period, rather than a one-off injection of cash.

Each issue of the Bugle costs about £2,500 to produce, a figure that would be very much higher if unpaid labour and other contributions in kind from members of the collective that produces it were included.

We aim to produce 10 Bugles a year. Our target is to achieve an income of £30,000 a year. The extra £5,000 above the price of 10 Bugles would cover costs associated with the Brixton Blog and the central functions of Brixton Media CIC.

We print 9,000 copies of the Bugle and around a third of these are picked up from just two outlets – Brixton Tesco and Sainsbury’s at the bottom of Tulse Hill.

Other major distributors include Brixton library, McDonald’s, Healthy Eaters on Electric Avenue, the Ritzy and San Marino on Brixton Road. The Education Department at Brixton Prison gets 100 copies.

You can find a full list of distributors and other information on the Brixton Blog website.

Any business or organisation wanting to be a distributor should drop an email to distribution@brixtonblog.com

We continue to publish the Bugle and Blog not only because we love Brixton, but also because we believe they have an important role in helping to make Brixton the unique community that it is.

Two of our many aims are to give a voice to those members of the community who struggle to be heard, and to let everyone who lives here know about their talented, brave and determined neighbours.

We also produce the annual and ever-growing Brixton Blog and Bugle Summer Art Show.

If you can help us with these tasks – whether you are a large business or an individual – we will make sure that help is recorded and publicly acknowledged.

There two ways to help us online:

If you want to give us a quick thank you, we have a BuyMeACoffee account

If you want to and can afford an ongoing commitment, we have a Patreon account

We will keep all contributors up to date with our financial position and plans.

There is no way, under the rules governing Community Interest Companies, that any individual can benefit from a donation to Brixton Media.

If, for any reason, the Brixton Media is wound up, any and all of its remaining assets must go to a nominated beneficiary, in our case the Brixton Advice Centre.

Sponsorship opportunities

INDIVIDUAL (Minimum of £10 a month)

Name listed in each issue of the Bugle and on website
Regular newsletter
Annual meeting/event
Exclusive email address to contact editorial team