Dispatch editor James Cracknell on the difficulties of sustaining a print newspaper in London

One of the most difficult aspects of my job as editor of Enfield Dispatch is managing people’s expectations.

Lots of people contact me on a daily basis, usually in the hope that we can cover an event, investigate a scandal or miscarriage of justice, promote a new campaign or publish a press release.

When I got my first job in London as a journalist, 15 years ago, I joined a local newspaper with a total of four reporters, plus an editor, dedicated to covering a single borough. I remember thinking even then that it was a challenge to make sure every story got covered.

Today, there is barely any local newspaper in London that can call on anywhere near that level of resource. New websites and email newsletters have popped up recently to cover the capital, which is positive, but at the borough level London remains incredibly poorly served.

At the Dispatch, when we launched the paper in 2018, I was a part-time editor working by myself to put together a monthly print publication and keep the website updated regularly. As thepaper became more successful – even coming close to winning a national award – I was able to become a full-time editor for the Dispatch in 2021. That year also saw us win the BBC Local Democracy Reporting Scheme contract for Enfield, Haringey and Barnet, giving us a reporter whose sole job was to cover the activities of local councils (although, frustratingly, not just for Enfield).

Since then, our progress as a publication has stalled, for a variety of reasons. The upshot is that despite our readership increasing significantly since that time, and being able to print more copies of the paper, we remain a monthly print publication relying on just one full-time editorial staff member (although we do have other people at publisher Social Spider CIC who work across all five of our publications).

Now added to the myriad of challenges facing the local media industry is artificial intelligence, as if we didn’t have enough difficulties with social media already!

At the same time, the Dispatch continues to become better known as a publication, and the number of emails and enquiries I receive gets higher and higher. While I try my best to run as many stories as I can online, I often get asked when these articles will be appearing in print. The reality is that less than one-in-five of the stories we publish ever appears in print, and that means I often have to disappoint people.

On the one hand, I’m glad that we are in demand and people still recognise the power of print – that publishing a story in a physical newspaper is still, in the year 2025, more coveted than any other medium.

But unless we can find a way to significantly boost our income (by at least £2,000 per month) the Dispatch is destined to remain a monthly publication. To put that number in perspective, we print 20,000 copies of the paper, but at present only 266 people give us a regular donation. That means the overwhelming majority of people reading this paper are not currently supporting us.

It was always my ambition when we launched to publish in print at least every fortnight, as that is the level of coverage a borough like Enfield – population 330,000 – deserves. If only an extra 400 people become supporters for £5 per month, it would generate the additional £2,000 we need to make this happen. If you’d like to see us print more regularly, and you’re not already doing so, please consider donating.

For more information about becoming a supporter of Enfield Dispatch:
Visit enfielddispatch.co.uk/support-us

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