BYLINES NETWORK ANNUAL REPORT: Citizen journalism – a movement whose time has come

In a year when billionaires and oligarchs entrenched their control of global news and media, an alternative journalistic force for good has been strenghtening democracy in the UK.

The Bylines Network annual report for 2024-25 tells a powerful story of citizen journalism in action. In a year of significant reader growth and increasing social impact, our network of 10 UK national and regional publications achieved some major milestones.

Here you can read the highlights of our last year, and download the full report. We believe transparency is a vital part of truth, so you’re welcome to read the report, share it and send us your thoughts.

The Bylines Network publications and their teams of editors in chief. 10 titles across England, Scotland and Wales.

Our story so far

Since launching our first title in 2020, we have now published more than 18,000 articles, which have been read over 19 million times. We have a small army of 2,000 writers and volunteers, producing nearly 400 new articles a month that investigate, report and analyse topics ranging from the hyper-local to the global.

All of this is made possible by everyday citizens, from all walks of life, coming togeth…