Members of the public wanting to have their voice heard by the media will have a champion thanks to a new Community Interest Company.
The Rooftop News CIC will continue to publish a daily dose of good news worth shouting about, but will expand its operation to help deliver training and advice to members of the public who want to have their voices heard.
The Rooftop was set up by social enterprise Campaign Collective in September 2018 to provide an outlet for positive news from campaigners, social enterprises, charities and trade unions.
However, Campaign Collective Members agreed that The Rooftop should do more to help individuals who need help in getting their voice heard by offering training and advice.
New data from Sapio Research has revealed that 2.9 million people in the UK want help to tell their story of overcoming disadvantage to the media.
To do this, the Collective has set up an independent Community Interest Company to take over the running of The Rooftop.
The Rooftop News CIC will enable people with lived experience of overcoming challenges to have their voices heard while simultaneously meeting the wider public’s growing need for more positive news.
With profits generated through the media site and by providing communications training to charities and campaigners, The Rooftop News CIC will provide free communications skills training to those with lived experience of overcoming challenges (such as poverty, disability, social isolation or prejudice).
The new Community Interest Company will be led by two experienced social entrepreneurs.
Simon Francis, Founder Member of Campaign Collective, will take on the role of Editorial Director alongside his existing responsibilities at the Collective and marketing specialist Nikki Anderson will become Brand Director whilst also continuing her work with Open Agency.
Francis commented:
We aim to address the lack of positive news that the public hears about. While helping the millions of people in the UK who want to tell their story of overcoming challenges in their lives to the media.
By providing an outlet for these inspiring stories – and news from other amazing campaigners – we will empower those people who have overcome challenges and help others learn from the experiences of inspiring individuals.”
To achieve its aims, The Roofotop is urging organisations to consider sponsoring or becoming patrons of the CIC.
Nikki Anderson said:
Since The Rooftop’s launch, it has built up a loyal following with more than 500,000 content views a week. The current news climate has shown how the need for a positive alternative to the mainstream media has never been more important.
Sponsors and advertisers can help us develop engaging content celebrating good news worth shouting about while grant funders and patrons can directly support our work to provide training to people who want to tell their inspiring stories to the media.”
For more information about supporting the work of The Rooftop visit: https://therooftop.news/support-rooftop/