Thursday 15th February 2024
In a move which could ensure the future of local journalism, Partner Tom Murdoch has helped online newspaper The Guildford Dragon achieve status as the first charitable ‘public interest’ news provider.
The move was supported by the Charitable Journalism Project with charitable status increasingly discussed as a viable route to sustaining public interest journalism.
Tom told Civil Society that the process for the online newspaper joining the charity register took several months of dealings with the Charity Commission.
He said: “This development should act as a signpost for other, similar public-interest news organisations.
“The aim of public interest journalism is to provide us, as citizens and members of our local communities, with the reliable, accurate and unbiased information that we need.
“CJP has played a central role in promoting charitable journalism. It’s not for all – some provide news for profit and other purposes – but charitable status is now a practical possibility for suitable public interest news providers across the spectrum.”
Martin Giles, the Guildford Dragon’s editor told Civil Society that he hoped other publications would be able to follow suit.
He added “It wasn’t a simple task. Now, the fundraising work will need to begin to make the Guildford Dragon News sustainable so we can continue to serve our borough with a local news service.”
Read the Civil Society article here and Tom’s blog on the story here.
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