THRIVE Magazine and Citizen Journalism

THRIVE is North Lancashire’s community food magazine, published by the Closing Loops project and written by local citizen journalists. A new issue is published every quarter, reflecting the seasons with recipes and foraging tips as well as regular features from food producers. Each issue has a ‘Food for Thought’ theme which is proposed and chosen by FoodFutures working groups.

Articles are largely written by citizen journalists who are local residents interested in writing – in this case about the food system. This growing network of citizen journalists is supported with training workshops and a monthly peer support session. THRIVE is delivered by bike or electric car to community hubs, cafes, libraries and other spaces across the district. In 2023, it had a distribution run of 1250 copies, but we expect that it is read by a far greater number of people as many places have a copy for people to flick through whilst having a brew.

Feedback has been positive with people loving the recipes, bright photos and positive local stories. People have said that it is a brilliant resource for learning about what is happening locally, building awareness and sharing good practice.

THRIVE magazine is about much more than publishing a magazine. It is about strengthening connections between projects, people and our place. It is about skilling people up to either tell their own story or to write articles that help others to tell their story. Through the Closing Loops project we’re developing a citizen journalism network – anyone is welcome to write and we provide training, regular peer to peer support sessions and editorial feedback.

To support people in developing their journalistic skills and confidence, we host annual training sessions for citizen journalists. In 2023, training was given in two hour sessions held over a number of weeks. These gave an introduction to the history of citizen journalism along with training in interviewing, writing skills, podcast and video making.