Enfield Dispatch publisher launching a community news service in Barnet

Community journalism, now well established in Enfield thanks to the sterling work of Enfield Dispatch and its citizen journalists, is coming to our neighbouring borough, Barnet. In February Social Spider, the community interest company behind the Dispatch and four more local community newspapers, will be launching Barnet Post.

Unlike the existing Social Spider publications, Barnet Post will at first be online only, posting at least four new articles a week on its website and sending out a weekly newsletter. Managing director David Floyd is aiming to move into print too in mid-2021, as soon as resources allow - though he says that the company is also excited about the possibilities for a digital-first approach.

Barnet Post will be edited by Bella Saltiel, whose career as a freelance journalist has including writing for Teen Vogue, Dazed, Novara Media and Jewish Renaissance, as well as two Social Spider papers, EC1 Echo and Tottenham Community Press. Writing on the Start Spreading the News blog, she says that

Barnet Post will be a not-for-profit publication, written by and for local people: giving readers the chance to learn more about what is going on in their area and to read (and write) stories about what matters to them.

It will hold power to account, promote the work of local community organisations and voluntary groups, and provide a platform for local people to raise important issues.

The Social Spider titles operate on a sustainable, not-for-profit model funded primarily through local advertising supplemented by donations through local membership schemes. Any surplus generated is reinvested in improving the publications through additional pages, increased distribution or increased editorial budgets.

We've seen this model working successfully in Enfield, as more advertising has allowed an increase in the number of pages and amount of reporting carried each month by the Dispatch. There's also been something of a shift towards online-first for reporting news as it happens, using social media and a new weekly newsletter to bring new content to readers' attention.

If you're interested in writing for Barnet Post, or if you have any stories about the borough to share, big or small, Bella is keen to hear from you and discuss your ideas: .