Most of the time when we write to you like this, it’s us asking you to do something. Read our story. Spread the word. Support our journalistic mission with your hard-earned money. That stuff is important, essential even, for us to keep doing what we’re doing. But today, we’re reversing roles.
More often than not, when we report on the city, it’s stories of businesses doing wrong, the spread of misinformation, cultural institutions failing, or divisions in society. Not this time. We believe a local paper shouldn’t just write about its city, it should be an asset for the people who live there. That’s why we’re launching a campaign, starting with a set of pledges.
So, to butcher JFK’s inaugural address, ask not what you can do for The Bell but what The Bell can do for Glasgow.
We’ve been discussing some of the ways we could use our position to make things better in Glasgow. Should we start an internship for aspiring writers? Produce a biannual, print edition of The Bell? Dedicate a reporter to cover local democracy issues? Offer free subscriptions to first-time voters?
These are a few of our ideas, but we want to hear from you. We’ve long-listed a dozen or so potential pledges. You can use this Google Form to read them and rank the ones that you’d like to see happen the most. Then there’s a box where you can send us your own pledge suggestions.
Our big aim is that 1,000 readers will see the vision of what we’re trying to do and become paid-up members, supporting what we do and helping us grow The Bell into the kind of paper Glasgow deserves. So if we reach this target, we’ll commit to these pledges. (As part of the fun, for those who’ve been asking, a hard copy print edition of The Bell will become a reality!)
When we founded The Bell back in September 2024, we had grand notions. Notions that we could cover the city differently, in more depth and detail. To tell stories that weren’t being told, uncover dodgy dealings and explore why our city is such a tinderbox. We also wanted a paper where first-time writers and established journalists alike could pitch investigative pieces, fascinating features and long reads that felt deeply embedded in the city.
Since then, we’ve surpassed our initial expectations. We’ve grown to a team of three reporters, got our own office, and had our work discussed in The Guardian, London Review of Books and on the BBC. Now, it’s time to take it up a notch so we can do even more in-depth reporting, investigations and analysis. Put simply, more members means more time and resources to do what we do at Bell HQ.
Later this month, we’ll pull all the pledge ideas together and come up with a shortlist. Then we’ll let you all know how you can join in as we start our push to fulfill the pledges you’ve decided on. All of us — readers, subscribers, staff — will help make this campaign one of the biggest moments in Glasgow journalism in years. If you want to be involved, email us (we could do with stockpilers for the hard copy of The Bell for a start). Otherwise, follow our socials for updates and watch this space!
