Telford Live

About Telford Live

Telford Live is an independent digital local news outlet serving Telford, Shifnal, Newport and Albrighton in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire. Run by a tiny team — one part-time editor-journalist and two volunteer contributors — it has served its patch for over 15 years with apolitical coverage of local news, events and community issues, building one of the most engaged readerships of any independent news site in the county.

A long-serving independent for Telford and Wrekin

Telford Live's own annual statement to its press regulator describes it as an independent local news outlet that has served the Telford, Shifnal, Newport and Albrighton areas for over 15 years — making it one of the longest-established digital-native news operations in Shropshire. It was founded in the late 2000s, in the first wave of independent online news sites that sprang up as regional newspapers began cutting their local coverage, and it has remained independent ever since.

Its patch is the borough of Telford and Wrekin: the new town of Telford itself — one of England's largest towns, with its constituent communities of Wellington, Oakengates, Dawley, Madeley, Ironbridge and others — plus the market towns of Shifnal and Newport and the village of Albrighton to the east. It is a densely populated, fast-changing area with a strong sense of local identity, and Telford Live has become one of its principal sources of day-to-day news.

Andy Smith and a tiny newsroom

Telford Live is edited by Andy Smith, named in its regulatory filings as the responsible person and editor. The operation's scale is strikingly small: one part-time editor working as a journalist, supported by two volunteer contributors. All published content is approved manually by the editor, and staff and contributors work to internal guidance emphasising accuracy and the distinction between news and opinion.

The small-team model is deliberate. It keeps costs low enough for the site to survive as an independent, and it means the editor is personally across everything the site publishes — from breaking news and council coverage to the daily events listings.

Apolitical local journalism

The outlet describes its coverage as apolitical: straightforward reporting of local news, events and community issues without party-political alignment. Its news agenda is the classic fare of a community news site done thoroughly — planning decisions, roadworks and transport, policing and courts, schools, health services, business openings and closures, charity fundraisers, community campaigns, weather disruption, and the civic life of Telford and Wrekin's towns and parishes.

It also carries extensive listings of local events — from stamp and coin fairs at Belmont Community Hall to music nights at Shifnal Village Hall and comedy clubs in Wellington — functioning as a community noticeboard as well as a news service.

Typical stories

The site's news agenda reflects the concerns of its patch. It has reported on both of Shropshire's hospital A&E departments ranking among the worst in the country for waiting times — a story with direct consequences for Telford's Princess Royal Hospital. It covers policing and crime, from appeals for witnesses to court results; planning and development, including housing schemes around towns like Shifnal and Albrighton; and the everyday civic business of Telford and Wrekin Council and the area's town and parish councils.

Community life gets equal weight: charity fundraisers, school achievements, sports clubs, new business openings, and campaigns by local residents. The site's Facebook feed regularly promotes weekend events across the borough — from the Telford Stamp, Postcard and Coin Fair at Belmont Community Hall in Wellington to live music from the Dent Twins at Shifnal Village Hall, Motown nights in Wellington, community health hubs in Hadley and comedy nights at the Crown Inn. This mix of hard news and community noticeboard is the essence of its appeal: it is where Telford finds out both what has happened and what is on.

Telford Live! at Five: the daily digest

Alongside the website, Telford Live publishes "Telford Live! at Five", a daily digital news digest delivered by email. The digest gives readers a once-a-day roundup of the area's news, and is one of the products listed in the outlet's regulatory filings alongside the primary news website, telford-live.com, and its social media platforms.

Social media and community reach

Telford Live maintains an active presence across Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Its social channels extend the website's reporting — breaking news alerts, event promotion and live updates — and are a major part of how the outlet reaches its audience. Its X account, @telfordlive, is known for live coverage of local elections, reporting turnout figures and results as they are declared.

One of the outlet's distinguishing features, noted in its own regulatory statement, is the high level of reader engagement generated through its unmoderated comment sections. Readers debate stories vigorously beneath the articles, and the site has become a forum for local discussion as well as a news source — a role that brings both lively community participation and the challenges of managing open debate.

Election coverage

Telford Live has built a reputation for thorough local election coverage. Its reporters attend counts across the borough — from Telford and Wrekin Council elections to town and parish council by-elections — and publish turnout figures and full results as they come in. On one recent by-election night it reported three contests in detail: Newport Town Council South with turnout of 31.5%, electing Liberal Democrat David Ellams; Gorge Parish (Lightmoor) with turnout of 17.99%, electing Labour's Ian Preece; and Dawley Hamlets (Small Hill) with turnout of 26.91%, electing Conservative Jack Hudson — each with the full breakdown of votes for every candidate. Giving readers faster and more detailed local results than any other outlet, this boots-on-the-ground civic reporting is one of the clearest examples of the democratic function independent local news can serve.

Regulation: IPSO and the Editors' Code

Telford Live is regulated by IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation, and operates in accordance with the Editors' Code of Practice. Its published annual statements to IPSO set out its titles and products, its compliance processes and its commitment to accuracy — an unusual level of formal accountability for a site of its size, and a signal of its professional standards. Complaints can be made through the IPSO framework in the same way as for national newspapers.

The Shropshire independent news landscape

Telford Live operates in a county with a lively independent digital news sector. It is distinct from Shropshire Live, the county-wide online news publication based in Shrewsbury, and from the legacy regional press — the Shropshire Star and the Express & Star — which still cover the area. Telford Live's niche is its intense focus on the Telford and Wrekin borough and its eastern market towns, covered by a team small enough to know the patch street by street.

For readers who want to support the outlet, the site's visibility across Facebook, X, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram makes it easy to share its reporting — and for a one-part-time-journalist operation, every share extends a newsroom that has quietly served its community for more than a decade and a half.

How to read it

Telford Live publishes at telford-live.com, with the Telford Live! at Five daily digest available by email subscription. Readers can also follow the outlet on Facebook, X (@telfordlive), YouTube, TikTok and Instagram for breaking news and community updates across Telford, Shifnal, Newport and Albrighton.