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FOR more than 40 years we have published a weekly newspaper, purposely free to all – the idea being that nobody should be denied important information simply on whether they have the ability to pay.

In return we have asked for nothing but your engagement – a deal from which we have been rewarded with perhaps some of the liveliest letters pages in the country and a stream of ideas from you for stories and debate. We have campaigned and challenged, and hopefully entertained too every now and then.

The paper is a part of life in Camden, a meeting place and a noticeboard open to all. Nevertheless, even with our most modest outgoings – none of our staff live in a mansion or drive a flashy car – the post-pandemic period has been the newspaper industry’s most challenging time.

The dramatic escalating cost of ink alone is in itself a threat, and all over the country long-running titles are stopping the presses due to mounting market pressures.

In this punishing climate, we ask readers – on our birthday, which comes around this week – to consider a one-off financial donation to help preserve the newspaper’s future.

We will not bombard you with requests for contributions, and we do not want anybody who does not have the means to try and take part.

The paper will always be completely free to read. Rest assured too that the New Journal’s structure means we do not have shareholders to please with dividends or executive staff on wealthy pay packets to cover – so every single penny goes back into meeting the weekly costs of producing a good local paper for Camden.

We, after all, are now one of the few remaining titles which has not descended into a clickbait web output using only the quickest ways to gather content. Journalists are still out working on the patch every day.

Of course, readers often have robust and constructive feedback for us and it would be unhealthy if everybody agreed with every word in each edition.

But the CNJ retains a key role in a functioning local democracy, and once local papers are gone, they are usually gone for good, or replaced with lightweight alternatives. We know that there are currently so many important causes which readers will be supporting and in that regard any contribution that can be made will be even more gratefully received.

As ever, we thank you for your enduring support

Another year at the heart of the community

WHILE many news sources are now a shadow of their former selves and more interested in the quantity of clicks than the quality of their content, the independent New Journal has done its best to keep a team of journalists on the ground to campaign, challenge, inform and entertain.

In the past year, we have taken our food aid van around the borough and even as far as Poland to help people fleeing the war in Ukraine – passing on donations from readers who otherwise felt helpless. We have campaigned to tackle loneliness in this post-pandemic period and produced a series of special editions to recognise all of Camden’s diverse communities.

Our QR code

We are still in council meetings and courtrooms, and our reception in Camden Town is always open to those who have a story – or a problem – to share. Our features have kept forgotten murder cases and missing persons inquiries in people’s minds. And last year we organised our own climate change conference – again free to all. On the occasion of our 41st birthday, you can support us by making a one-off donation.

To do this you can go to a special page on the front of our website this week, or by scanning the QR code on this page or the blue donate icons. Any contribution from £1 up would help our collection and protect the future of Camden’s community newspaper.

CLICK ABOVE TO ADD YOUR DONATION TO OUR BIRTHDAY APPEAL