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25 years of your unique campaigning paper
JUST before Easter 25 years ago the borough’s first free weekly, the Camden New Journal, was published.
Today it is recognised in the industry as one of the best local weeklies in Britain. It has won awards, and regularly breaks stories that appear in the national press and TV.
It is recognised as a pioneering paper because, unlike other papers in Britain, it is not privately owned, either by a family or a large group, such as the Ham and High.
It was launched in 1982 by two journalists with a £50,000 loan from the Midland bank (the predecessor of the HSBC) guaranteed under a government scheme.
They formed a special company limited by guarantee which, in ownership terms, makes it similar to The Guardian newspaper, which is run by the Scott Trust.
It differs in other ways, too, because it puts its readers at the heart of its operations. Unlike any other weekly in London, it gives readers a real voice every week with four or five pages of letters.
It has run several hard-hitting campaigns.
It campaigned successfully in the 90s against plans by health experts to close University College Hospital in Bloomsbury.
It helped to keep open Camden’s libraries by backing a campaign by residents who opposed a council closure scheme.
It campaigned against New Labour reforms that emasculated democracy at the Town Hall with executive-style management.
It led a campaign to put more police on the drug-ridden streets of Camden Town.
Today, it is campaigning for a better deal for a new generation of disillusioned, jobless youngsters.
To celebrate 25 years of the unique Camden New Journal several public events are planned for the coming year, which will be announced in due course.
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