The Bristol Cable
The Bristol Cable is a member-owned Bristol media co-operative producing free local investigative journalism in print and online.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Bristol Cable is an independent media co-operative based in Bristol, England. Founded in 2014 by Alec Saelens, Adam Cantwell-Corn and Alon Aviram, it was established as an alternative local-news organization intended to strengthen public-interest journalism and community participation in the city. Its principal outputs are a free website and a free quarterly print publication, supported by a membership model rather than conventional commercial ownership. The organization is owned by its members. Members contribute a recurring fee and receive a role in the co-operative's strategic decision-making, creating a direct relationship between the publication and the community it serves. This model also provides a funding base for reporting and editorial operations. In December 2017, the co-operative was reported to have approximately 1,900 members, with members contributing an average of £2.70 per month and the organization employing six full-time staff. By 2021, Press Gazette reported that membership had grown to approximately 2,600. The Bristol Cable's journalism has focused on accountability, inequality, public institutions, working conditions, housing, policing, migration, environmental policy and the local effects of global economic structures. Reported investigations have examined workplace abuses in the catering sector, Bristol University's fossil-fuel investments, property ownership through offshore companies, possible plans involving deep-well fracking, police use of IMSI-catchers, local links to the arms trade, conditions for workers, racial bias in immigration checks and the limited proportion of new housing developments allocated as affordable homes. Several of these stories were used by campaigners or prompted wider public and institutional attention. The publication has combined member income with grants, donations and crowdfunding. Before its first issue, it raised £3,300 through crowdfunding and received support from Co-operatives UK and Lush. It later received a £40,000 grant from the Reva and David Logan Foundation in 2017 and a reported £100,000-per-year, two-year grant from the Omidyar Network in 2018. These sources helped it expand reporting capacity and community activity while retaining free access to its journalism. The Bristol Cable received the Press Gazette British Journalism Award for Local Journalism in 2019, following recognition of a five-year investigation into modern slavery involving a local employer. Press Gazette again highlighted the publication in 2021 for its investigative journalism and organizational development. The Cable is also part of the Global Investigative Journalism Network. Its distinctive positioning is therefore based on local accountability reporting, reader and member participation, co-operative ownership and free distribution rather than a conventional advertising-led newspaper model.
History
The Bristol Cable was established in Bristol in 2014 by Alec Saelens, Adam Cantwell-Corn and Alon Aviram. Its founders created an independent media co-operative designed to provide local journalism outside the ownership and revenue structures of conventional newspapers. From the beginning, the organization combined a website with a free print publication and sought to involve residents not only as readers but also as members and participants in the co-operative. Its membership model is central to the Cable's identity. Members pay a recurring contribution, help fund reporting and receive a role in strategic decisions concerning the co-operative. This arrangement gives the publication a community-based source of support while keeping its journalism free to access. In December 2017, the organization was reported to have 1,900 members, whose average monthly contribution was £2.70. At that time it had six full-time staff. By 2021, reported membership had reached approximately 2,600. The organization financed its launch through a £3,300 crowdfunding campaign, supplemented by support from Co-operatives UK and Lush. It subsequently broadened its funding base. In 2017, the Reva and David Logan Foundation provided a £40,000 grant to expand the Cable's capacity in the local community. In 2018, the Omidyar Network was reported to have committed £100,000 per year for two years. These grants supplemented, rather than replaced, the membership-centered model and supported the publication's reporting and community activity. The Cable developed a reputation for investigations into issues affecting Bristol residents and for connecting local events with wider questions of institutional power and inequality. Its reporting has covered workplace abuses in catering, labor conditions, modern slavery, fossil-fuel investments by Bristol University, offshore ownership of local property, potential deep-well fracking, police surveillance technology, local connections to the arms trade, immigration enforcement and affordable housing. A 2016 investigation into police use of IMSI-catchers, devices capable of intercepting or identifying mobile communications, became a national news story. Reporting on university fossil-fuel holdings was used by divestment campaigners and was followed by a change by the university. The publication's 2017 joint investigation with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism examined racial bias in Immigration Enforcement street stops and checks. Its housing reporting in 2018 compared the limited proportion of new development allocated to affordable housing with Bristol City Council's official policy. The Cable also undertook a five-year investigation into modern slavery involving a local employer, work that won the Press Gazette British Journalism Award for Local Journalism in 2019. By 2021, the Cable was being recognized not only for individual investigations but also for the successful development of its co-operative structure and membership base. It is part of the Global Investigative Journalism Network. Its continuing model combines local accountability reporting, member ownership, community participation, free digital access and a quarterly print edition distributed throughout Bristol. The available reference material does not identify a separate parent company, public listing, current executive roster or official website URL.
- 2021
Membership reaches approximately 2,600
[1]Press Gazette reports continued development of the publication and membership of approximately 2,600.
- 2019
British Journalism Award for Local Journalism
[1]The Cable wins the Press Gazette British Journalism Award for Local Journalism for its investigation into modern slavery involving a local employer.
- 2018
Omidyar Network grant
[1]The Omidyar Network is reported to provide £100,000 per year for two years to support the organization's development.
- 2017
Membership and staffing reported
[1]The co-operative is reported to have 1,900 members, average monthly member contributions of £2.70 and six full-time staff.
- 2017
Community-capacity grant
[1]The Reva and David Logan Foundation provides a reported £40,000 grant to expand the Cable's local community capacity.
- 2015
Fossil-fuel holdings investigation
[1]Reporting on Bristol University's fossil-fuel holdings is used by divestment campaigners and is followed by a change in the university's position.
- 2014
The Bristol Cable is founded
[1]Alec Saelens, Adam Cantwell-Corn and Alon Aviram establish The Bristol Cable as an independent media co-operative in Bristol.
- 2014
Launch funding is raised
[1]The organization raises £3,300 through crowdfunding and receives additional support from Co-operatives UK and Lush to produce its first issue and launch citizen-journalism workshops.
Products and positioning
A member-owned, independent and community-oriented local news organization focused on investigative journalism, public accountability and free access to reporting.
Print journalism · 2014
Quarterly print publication
The Bristol Cable publishes a free quarterly print edition containing local news, investigations and public-interest reporting. The edition is distributed throughout Bristol and is part of the organization's effort to make journalism available beyond digital audiences. The reported print run is 30,000 copies.
Digital news · 2014
Online journalism
The Cable's website provides free access to local news and investigative reporting. Its coverage addresses Bristol institutions, housing, policing, employment, migration, environmental issues and local connections to national or global systems of power.
Membership service · 2014
Co-operative membership
Membership allows supporters to contribute regularly to the publication and participate in strategic decisions about the co-operative. The model is both a funding mechanism and a form of community governance, distinguishing The Bristol Cable from a conventional privately owned local newspaper.
Community journalism · 2014
Citizen-journalism workshops
Citizen-journalism workshops were part of the organization's early activities. They reflect The Bristol Cable's aim to involve local residents in media production and broaden participation in public-interest reporting.
Marketing campaigns
- 2015Fossil-fuel divestment coverage
Bristol
The Cable's reporting on Bristol University's fossil-fuel holdings was used by people campaigning for university divestment.
Outcome. The reporting was followed by a change in the university's position, according to the reference material.
Sources1 sources
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