Rye News is your online weekly paper, and now the only truly local paper for Rye and the surrounding area. It reports on local matters and raises awareness of many issues that may otherwise go unnoticed or unannounced. It is a community newspaper and is appreciated by a large, and growing, audience not only from Rye but nationally and internationally.
It is free, run by volunteers who work extremely hard to source stories and ensure that articles are as up-to-date, relevant and accurate as they can be. This takes up a great deal of their time and we are lucky to have them.
As with many news outlets, and businesses in general, change is inevitable, and change for the better should be welcomed. Nothing remains the same and Rye News must move with the times in order to survive.
We need your help in various ways. We need you, our readers, to spread the word that Rye News exists via your social media, to subscribe to our weekly newsletter and encourage others to subscribe so we can broaden our reach.
Businesses can help by handing out our leaflets to customers, or maybe just have a supply available in your shops or offices. Display one of our striking A5 posters in a window or on a noticeboard. Help us to help you.
Sports teams can help us, and help themselves to some free media coverage, by sending us their latest news, reports and photographs of matches and details of any upcoming events.
We are expanding our coverage where other local news outlets have retreated but this takes people. We need a larger and more diverse team of contributors from all areas of Rye and around to help us bring different perspectives to our thinking and content. We will of course help and train you as required, but flair, thinking outside the box and just simply getting involved in your local community often produces material which people want to read about.
Rye News does not cost a great deal to run, but in order to expand and provide better coverage of a wider range of stories we will need more money. We are a not-for-profit community interest company, but without more money the future of Rye News is simply not sustainable.
If you enjoy our coverage you could make a donation to us to help with our costs. If you are a business you can advertise with us. We offer various packages including pay-per-click and we can target the adverts geographically.
Perhaps you would like to become a patron of Rye News. For a regular monthly donation, you would be helping secure our future.
We look to you, our audience, for inspiration. Bring us your suggestions, help us to survive and prosper and carry on reporting the news that matters to you. We want to know how you think Rye News should change – does the current format work for you, is it missing something, are we broadly on the right track?
Please contact us using this form or by dropping us a line at help@ryenews.org.uk. You can donate here.
Image Credits: Rye News library .
I love your website, and genuinely wish you well. But to get more local support, how about more local news stories – rather than dreary reportage about piano concerts in Bexhill and weekly RNLI press releases ?
Example : “The Bell” is the oldest pub in Rye. It’s closed. Surely that deserves as many column inches as a retrospective on the types of candles available at Great Dixter Christmas Fair ?
Another : That wildflower meadow rejection decision seems bonkers to me. But what do other locals think ? Take half an hour to walk around the town – and report what you see and hear. It’s not rocket science.
Best wishes.
Mike
What a shame that this comment, which is probably well intentioned, has such a negative and patronising tone! Why is that necessary!? What Rye News has achieved so far is brilliant.
Mags – I’m sorry if it came across that way. Just trying to make some positive suggestions on how they can improve – but re-reading in the cold light of day, maybe I was a little harsh !
Mike
Why if Mrs M Ivatts thought the comment by Mr N Anderson was well intentioned go on to write negatively with ! marks and just comment how brilliant Rye News is..when he had already praised the web newspaper but had a couple of suggestions which he thought may be more interesting to local readers..
May be the editor could contact him and see if could contribute in some way.
Mike,its gratifying to know you like the Rye News website, our efforts have not been in vain after all. Regarding local stories, you may have read a recent story regarding a body found in a ditch, another about a missing person on a poster spotted in the waiting room at Rye Station, within 48 hours of these issues coming to light articles were produced and published, not bad going eh?. On one of my regular “walk around the town” to quote you, I saw something which I considered our readers should know about and did something about it, the readership numbers were impressive.
We have to use what material is either sourced by us or sent to us to use, variety is sometimes difficult to achieve if ‘meaty’ stories are lacking. Yes some topics may seem mundane to some but to others they are no doubt of interest.
We are aware of The Bell closing and have been trying to ascertain what is proposed for the building, similarly we are waiting to hear the fate of the now closed William Hill betting shop which we have written to the agents about.
There is a lot which goes on behind the scenes before many of the articles ‘go live’, getting the facts right is very important, writing an interesting article or comment takes time and effort, bringing a variety of news stories to our readers is what we do.
What we really need is some of our readers to contribute stories or opinions however varied but until that changes we will do what we do and to the best of our ability.
I think Rye News provides insight that we cannot find elsewhere. Re. making a donation. I think this is a positive suggestion, however, I am not prepared to donate online. I am very happy to make a small cash donation every now and again. Please share details of how and when this could be arranged.
Thanks Judith.
Yes, I agree that those two sad stories were well covered.
The Bell story is a good example of what I’m getting at here. We, your readers, had no idea it was on your radar: the paper has been completely silent on the situation. I appreciate that you need to get the facts correct. In the meantime, however, the story goes a bit “cold”. So how about a “breaking news” section, where you just report the facts as they stand:
*”The Olde Bell” has closed. There are no signs in the window to say what’s happened, and their website doesn’t give any clues. We’re making enquiries. More follows*
Then you update the story as more emerges.
In terms of pub news, CAMRA do this update thing very well in their quarterly ‘Sussex Drinker’ publication – but the format would work for any “breaking“ local news story.
Just my suggestion – you did ask for them !
Mike
I agree that a “breaking news” or “news in brief” section would be a welcome addition and not require the work that goes into a complete article. As mentioned above, it would show that your excellent publication is aware of the situation. An item for this section could be that, at long last, work has started at the George in the last couple of weeks.
Last time I looked there was an Opinions section in which people like Mike can raise issues like the Bell closing. Or readers can inform the editorial team directly! No publication on Earth relies solely on its reporters (paid or selfless volunteers) for all their stories – they rely on readers and Press Releases as much as individual reporters’ own initiatives.
Seems like Mike is putting himself forward for a new Boozers beat – well done that man and I look forward to reading a regular weekly story in Rye News from him on what’s going down in the town’s pubs. I’m sure his alebag will soon be brimming over with punters’ pump tales for him to get to grips with!
Cheers!
Andy
PS Incidentally, is Mike the Mike Anderson – the scallop fisherman from Rye who dredged up a 6 inch 11,000-year-old mammoth tooth in his nets in 2013?
If any help, this intrepid sleuth discovered workmen beavering away within the Bell this afternoon..