THE Lichfield and Burntwood Independent is celebrating the publication of its 50th edition.
Initially started as a two-month long trial by the team behind award-winning local news website Lichfield Live, the newspaper has continued to flourish ever since.
It now publishes 8,000 copies every fortnight, distributed to locations across the district, including businesses and community facilities.
The newspaper continues to be run by a volunteer team thanks to the funding and support of local advertisers and donors.
Editor Ross Hawkes said:
“It’s been an incredible journey so far – and one I’m proud to have been involved in.
“Ever since we first toyed with the idea of making sure the local area had a print publication, we’ve been overwhelmed by the response.
“Readers keep telling us how much they love it, which is great to hear.”
The success of the publication has also seen the team behind it named as 2025 We Love Lichfield Community Champions of the Year.
But despite being run by volunteers, Ross said it was important support continued for the publication in the long-term:
“We still have considerable overheads we have to meet every fortnight, including print and publication costs.
“The importance of verified, independent local news and information has never been more crucial to communities, so it’s essential we do all we can to keep local news alive and kicking.
“Seeing people invested in local news and the things happening around them – be it good, bad or everything inbetween – is really important, so making sure we can keep doing that every fortnight is such a motivation for us.”
“But we need that support from advertisers to keep ensuring we can publish.
“As a team of volunteers, we’re desperate to create a sustainable future for local news in our area – imagine what we could do with more resources to devote to the newspaper and our website.”
For advertising with The Lichfield and Burntwood Independent or Lichfield Live, email adsales@lichfieldlive.co.uk.
