1) What are the main things we would do, if we chose this option?

No more print publication of Peace News – go online. Produce fresh content on nonviolence in action, strategy, nonviolent theory, news and opinion. Perhaps put out audio (podcasts), video (perhaps on YouTube) and put out text online.

Shoestring option/Core Work

Instagram live, or YouTube for regular discussions with guests. Substack for longer articles shared on an email list that could be divided by topic. (Founded in 2017, Substack is a US online platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics, and design infrastructure to allow authors to publish subscription newsletters.) There could be a free substack and a paid subscribers-only stack for longer, in-depth articles. For podcasts, Buzzsprout has a free tier allowing you to publish two hours a month, which ‘lives’ for 90 days before being deleted.

The cheapest paid-for tier at Acast (where most mainstream podcasts are hosted) is around £142 per year.

Even as a shoestring option, this would need a paid member of staff to keep content live and current.

Ambitious Project

New website, new design, specialist production for podcasts, recorded talks and lectures. Full-time paid employee to update news daily.

2) What are the main need(s) the project is serving?

The main need that this project is answering is the call to digitise and move online. In addition, this project is answering the need to scale down, in the absence of funding. It could potentially attract younger audiences that would never look at print media. It is easier to use social media to attract readers to a website.

Shoestring option: Use social media to promote events and connect with groups, and help people to find each other, which is useful for the network option.

The Ambitious Project version can have interactive website, meaning possibly that people can upload actions or news, a bit like Refugee Week, and how Indymedia used to.

3) What is the hole that this project is filling? (Are we sure somebody else isn’t already doing this? How much would we be adding?)

One hole would be the desire of the people involved in Peace News to create and express themselves as well as hear from others. This website/project could connect feminism and care with peace. It could respond to more local events. However, there are other radical online news services already.

4) How would we define the ‘success’ of this project?

Success could be measured by the amount of traffic, number of subscribers to social media accounts linked to the website. Success could also be measured by depth and range of different contributors, including international, and collaborators that provide content.

5) What are some of the main pros and cons of adopting this option?

Pros –

The pros are it’s easy to attract feedback, in the moment, it is potentially cheaper and can reach more people, including international readers. If the focus was on developing a social media presence, constant live blogs, that could attract more traffic. It is easier to respond to different users’ preferences, for text, images, sound, for events listings.

A big pro is that it is open-ended and could easily be connected with other ambitious projects. A pro is this fits well with other options.

Cons –

A big con is that it would leave out the present subscribers who rely on the print copy of Peace News. The lack of a paper copy destroys continuity and regularity that readers have said they like. How does a fully-online newspaper have a presence at demos or radical book fairs? Many older readers have expressed in the research interviews, how much they value the regularity of a paper. A paper is almost like a building; it is a physical embodiment of a network /community. It can be found in bookshops or venues or passed around.

Also, a 24-hour news cycle could be exhausting, if more ambitious. But this could be replaced with regular email newsletter, directing readers to Substack for example.

The cons are we would be at the mercy of social media algorithms, where you can be penalised for mentioning certain issues.

Something to consider is that a new website might cost more than producing a print version

6) How does what is happening in the world, right now and over the next five years or so, support or work against the success of this project?

Things are moving online!

7) Which kind(s) of people is the project focused on/prioritising?

We would be prioritising people who are comfortable online, perhaps younger people.

8) Which organised group(s) could we partner with to help deliver this project?

Partner with secure networks, server, social media platforms, partners who are very active online like Demilitarise Education, Fossilfree, Refugee Solidarity, online alternative news providers.

9) What skills/qualities/experience will be needed to deliver this project?

Comms professional for growing presence on social media, writers, illustrators, content creators, video editors.

10) What seems to be the minimum budget needed to deliver this project?

Would need paid staff prepared to be constantly updating, plus staff to write content. New website at least £10,000?