Happy birthday, Murray Bridge News – we’re three on April 23, 2023

Three years ago today, as a pandemic took hold around the world, I stood in front of a camera at Sturt Reserve and promised that our communities’ stories would continue to be told.

What began as a side project for this stood-down journalist has since become the Murraylands’ most trusted source of local news and information.

Since April 23, 2020, Murray Bridge News has done its best to connect, empower and uplift local people by telling local stories; and you’ve supported us with your subscriptions, advertisements and time.

So today, on our third birthday, we say thank you.

With your help, I hope we’ll be able to continue fulfilling an important role in our communities for many years to come.

How is Murray Bridge News going, anyway?

Since launching on April 23, 2020, your independent local news service has:

• Published more than 2100 local stories
• Reached a weekly circulation of over 3500 readers, the most of any publication in the Murraylands
• Let you know about thousands of local events in our weekly Things to Do column
• Advocated for local people on critical issues including the flood recovery, childcare and housing
• Told positive stories about our region in the face of relentless negativity from metro and national media

What’s next for Murray Bridge News?

I’ve mentioned our plans for a Murray Bridge News Network, which will bring local news and information onto TV screens in waiting rooms, cafes and at other locations around the Murraylands.

We hope to launch it next month, pending technology and contracts and those sorts of things.

We also hope to start producing more video content this year, giving locals more opportunities to tell their own stories in their own words, with support from the Meta Australian News Fund.

We’ll have one more major announcement to make in a couple of months’ time, too.

There’s plenty going on!

How can I help?

I’m glad you asked, that’s very kind of you.

If you’re a paying subscriber, you’re already helping!

If not, perhaps you’d consider supporting us – just a few dollars per month helps us keep you up to speed with everything that’s happening in the Murraylands, from coming events to sporting results, local success stories and how councils are spending your ratepayer dollars.

We’ll send all that info straight to your email inbox every Thursday.

Sign up in the next week to get a 12-month subscription for the current rate of just $60.

We will increase the cost of a subscription for the first time, by $1 per month for annual subscribers or $1.50 for monthly subscribers, from May 1.

How can my business help?

More accurately: how can our businesses help each other?

Murray Bridge News can help you reach thousands of local people just as effectively as a local newspaper or radio station, but at a lower cost, since our overheads are not as high.

Call my colleague Jane on 0418 835 768, email jane@murraybridge.news or pop in to see us at 30 Seventh Street, Murray Bridge.

Anyway…

Thanks again for supporting us in year three.

It means the world that I’m able to make a living by writing about this community I love, and I know Michael and Jane feel the same way about their contributions.

Long may it continue.