A Substack newsletter covering the Medway towns has plans to expand into a county-wide title, so it can deliver on two goals: be a critical friend and champion local successes
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One thing we have seen lately is a rise of news organisations on the newsletter subscription platform Substack.
One of those is Local Authority, a two-man outfit reporting on the area of Medway, a borough of five towns in Kent. It has found a passionate following of 4.5k free and 400 paying subscribers.
But that’s only enough to keep founders Ed Jennings and Steven Keevil doing it part-time. In this week's episode, the pair shares plans to go full-time by launching a second, county-wide Substack newsletter.
That will help them scrutinise a bunch of sweeping changes to local government that are about to come in - changes that many in the community will feel strongly about and will need to be clued up on.
And yes, there is also an irony to naming their newsletter Local Authority that we pick up on. One lesson: do not name your side hustle lightly. It could get bigger than you think, and then you will be stuck with it.
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