Southwark News

About Southwark News

Southwark News is a weekly local newspaper based in Southwark, south London, and is described as the only independent, paid-for newspaper in London. Founded by Dave Clark as the Bermondsey News in 1987 and bought in 2002 by Chris Mullany and Kevin Quinn, it is owned and run by Southwark Newspaper Limited from The Biscuit Factory in Bermondsey. Covering the London Borough of Southwark and the surrounding area in tabloid format, it has built its reputation on community campaigning, local investigations and a staunchly independent editorial stance, and its publisher has since expanded into a small independent media group under the Community Matters Media banner.

Founding as the Bermondsey News

Southwark News was founded in 1987 by Dave Clark as the Bermondsey News, a title serving the historic riverside district of Bermondsey in south-east London. The paper later expanded its coverage to the wider borough of Southwark and the surrounding area, adopting the Southwark News name. In its early years it was funded for a time by Barry Albin-Dyer, the Bermondsey businessman. In 2002, Albin-Dyer offered to sell the company to two of its leading figures, Chris Mullany and Kevin Quinn, and they bought the business — establishing the independent, locally owned character that has defined the paper ever since. The company was formally established as Southwark Newspaper Limited in 2002.

Ownership and Independence

Southwark News is owned and run by Southwark Newspaper Limited, based in Bermondsey, with Kevin Quinn serving as editor and Chris Mullany as managing director. Its headquarters are at The Biscuit Factory, 100 Drummond Road, London SE16 4DG — a converted Victorian biscuit factory in the heart of Bermondsey. The paper's defining claim is that it is the only independent, paid-for newspaper in London: unlike the capital's free freesheets and the titles owned by national groups, it is bought by its readers and owned by local people. That independence is central to its editorial identity and its marketing, and the company has built its broader publishing portfolio around the same principle of local ownership.

Editorial Character and Campaigns

The paper covers local news, politics, crime, sport, business, education, culture and community life across Southwark — from Bermondsey and Rotherhithe to Peckham, Dulwich, Camberwell and Elephant and Castle. Its campaigning journalism has been a hallmark: among the community campaigns listed by its publisher are spearheading the campaign to get a new school built in Bermondsey; working with Southwark and Lambeth councils on a campaign to create 100 apprentices in 100 days, and then creating 100 apprentice opportunities in as many companies; co-launching a Blue Plaques scheme voted on by local people, which has seen dozens of historically important people and buildings recognised; and raising over £100,000 for Evelina Children's Hospital, with the company's own team taking part in ultra-marathons, a swim across the Channel, the Three Peaks Challenge, a Full Monty show and an auction of portraits. The company is accredited as a London Living Wage employer.

Print, Digital and Sister Titles

Southwark News is published weekly in tabloid format as a paid-for title, and its content is also available on its website southwarknews.co.uk and as a digital e-edition. Under the Community Matters Media banner, Southwark Newspaper Limited has built a portfolio of publications: the South London Weekly, a paid-for weekly launched to cover the southern part of the capital; the Greenwich & Lewisham Weekender; and the lifestyle magazines The South Londoner and the Bermondsey Biscuit & Rotherhithe Docker, the latter launched in 2018. In 2019 the company launched Urban Fox, a monthly title for the Southwark and Lambeth areas described as a "love letter" to its patch, replacing the former Southwark & Lambeth Weekender. The group's digital presence spans southwarknews.co.uk and southlondon.co.uk, with newsletters and strong followings across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

Community Role During the Pandemic

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Southwark News demonstrated the community role that independent local papers can play. In April 2020 the paper gave away £10,000 of free digital advertising space to independent firms on its patch — offering a month's free advertising on its website to help local businesses through the crisis, with more than 30 companies taking up the offer. The owners also printed extra papers and had them delivered with the local authority's food parcels to vulnerable, shielded residents each week. Chris Mullany said at the time that as a small business itself, the paper felt the pain of local firms and wanted to help ensure that the lifeblood of south London survived beyond the crisis. The company also gave away free advertising to Brixton businesses after the 2011 riots and to Herne Hill businesses after the area was closed due to severe flooding.

Editorial Standards and Regulation

Southwark Newspaper Limited abides by the Editor's Code of Practice and the guidelines of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. The company states that since its establishment in 2002 it has prided itself on producing journalism that is balanced and includes comments from all political persuasions and all aspects of society. Its published editorial guidelines commit it to correcting inaccuracies promptly: corrections appear in the following edition and, where appropriate, apologies are published with due prominence, while online errors are removed within a maximum of two hours. The responsible person for IPSO matters is managing director Chris Mullany, and the company holds twice-weekly editorial meetings between the editor and the editorial team.

Competition and the South London Market

Southwark News operates in a competitive south London market. Its historic rival, the South London Press — first established in 1865 — abruptly ceased publication in May 2025 after 160 years, with the loss of six jobs, underlining the pressures facing the capital's local press. Other competitors include the South London Guardian series published by Newsquest. Against this backdrop, the Southwark News's survival and expansion as an independent, paid-for title is a notable exception to the wider story of contraction in London local journalism. Its paid-for model, unusual among London weeklies, gives it a direct commercial relationship with its readers that its free competitors lack.

The Paid-For Model in a Free-Sheet City

Southwark News's paid-for model sets it apart in a London market where most local weeklies are distributed free. Charging a cover price creates a direct commercial relationship between the paper and its readers: every sale is a vote of confidence, and the paper's revenues depend on producing journalism that people consider worth paying for. The model also shapes its advertising proposition, offering businesses access to an engaged, purchasing readership rather than a passive free-sheet audience. When Community Matters Media launched the South London Weekly as a 32-page paid-for print title with a 50p cover price, it was betting that the Southwark News formula could be extended across a wider south London patch. The approach stands in contrast to the free-distribution strategies of most London weeklies and to the digital-only models of newer entrants. For Kevin Quinn and Chris Mullany, who have run the paper since buying it in 2002, the paid-for principle is both a business decision and a statement of editorial self-respect: a newspaper that people buy is a newspaper that must earn its readership every week.

Place in London Journalism

For nearly four decades, Southwark News has served as Bermondsey's and Southwark's paper of record — chronicling the transformation of the borough from its industrial docklands past to its present as one of London's most dynamic and diverse areas. Its combination of paid-for independence, community campaigning and local ownership makes it a distinctive voice in a media landscape increasingly dominated by national and multinational groups. For its readers in SE16, SE1, SE5, SE15 and beyond, it remains the paper that covers their streets, their council and their community — and that answers to them.