A newsroom of nine, owned by its readers
When the regional publisher closed its Lindenfeld office in 1998, three of its reporters stayed and started the Courier. Today 9,400 members pay for local journalism that no one else in the valley does.
Founded 1998
Why we exist
A city of 240,000 people needs someone who sits through the council meetings, reads the budget and asks why the bus is late. Without a local newsroom, those questions go unasked.
The Courier belongs to a cooperative of its readers. Members elect the board, the board appoints the editor, and no member, advertiser or politician can tell the newsroom what to publish.
Nine people work in the newsroom: four reporters, a data reporter, two editors, a photographer and a developer. Freelancers from the region add reviews and reports from the villages.
Most of our income comes from memberships, the rest from a few local advertisers and foundation grants for specific projects. We publish the full accounts every spring.
Local news is slow work. We take the time it needs.
Fewer articles, each one checked, sourced and kept up to date.
Members
Why readers pay for the Courier
When the bus depot was about to close, the Courier was the only paper that came to the meeting. That is worth eight euros a month to me.
Renate Vogel
Member since 2004, Nordviertel
They correct their mistakes in public. I trust a paper that does that.
Emre Aksoy
Member since 2019, Altstadt
I read it on the tram every morning. It loads fast, even in the tunnel.
Paula Schreiber
Member since 2023, Ostpark
Newsroom
Tell us what we missed.
Tips, corrections and letters reach the editor on duty. We read everything and answer within two working days.
- News tips to newsroom@example.org
- Corrections to corrections@example.org
- Letters to the editor, Kanalstraße 12, Lindenfeld