The Big Issue Explained

The Big Issue
Editor:Paul McNamee[1]
Editor Title:Editor-in-chief
Frequency:weekly
Circulation:57,059 (as of 2022)[2]
Category:Entertainment and Current Affairs
Company:The Big Issue[3]
Firstdate:September 1991
Country:United Kingdom
Australia
Ireland
Japan
South Africa
South Korea
Namibia
Kenya
Taiwan[4]
Malawi[5]
Based:London, United Kingdom[6]
Language:English (UK Edition)
Website:bigissue.com

The Big Issue is a United Kingdom-based street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. The Big Issue is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people, or individuals at risk of homelessness, the opportunity to earn a legitimate income, thereby helping them to reintegrate into mainstream society. It is the world's most widely circulated street newspaper.[7] [8]

History

Inspired by Street News, a newspaper sold by homeless people in New York City, The Big Issue was founded in 1991 by John Bird and Gordon Roddick (husband of The Body Shop entrepreneur Anita Roddick) as a response to the increasing numbers of homeless people in London.[9] [10] The Body Shop provided the equivalent of $50,000 in start-up capital.[11] The magazine was initially published monthly but in June 1993, The Big Issue went weekly. The venture continued to expand with national editions being established in Scotland and Wales, as well as regional editions for Northern England and South West England. Further editions are also produced in seven locations overseas.

In 1995, The Big Issue Foundation was founded to offer additional support and advice to vendors around issues such as housing, health, personal finance and addiction. Between 2007 and 2011, the circulation of The Big Issue declined from 167,000 to less than 125,000. Competition between vendors also increased at this time. From July 2011, the different regional editions were merged into a single UK-wide magazine.[12] In January 2012, the magazine was relaunched, with an increased focus on campaigning and political journalism. New columnists were added, including the Premier League footballer Joey Barton, Rachel Johnson, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park[13] and Samira Ahmed. The cover price was also increased.[14] [15]

In 2016, The Big Issue celebrated surpassing 200 million magazine sales.[16] In September 2021, the magazine celebrated its 30th birthday. [17]

Ethos

The magazine is produced by the Big Issue Company Ltd. The company is a self-sustaining business that generates income through magazine sales and advertising revenues. Financially, The Big Issue is a social enterprise. The Big Issue Foundation is the registered charity arm of the organisation. It aims to underpin the company's work by tackling the underlying causes of homelessness.

Overseas projects

There are nine Big Issue projects by the same name in other nations.

Criticism

The Big Issue has been the centre of much controversy among publishers of street newspapers, mainly because of its business model.[8] [30] Publishers of some other street newspapers, especially in the United States, have criticised it for being overly "commercial" and having a flashy design. According to these critics, street newspapers ought to focus on covering political and social issues that affect the homeless, rather than emulating mainstream newspapers to generate a profit.[11] [31] Publishers of some smaller papers, such as Making Change in Santa Monica, California, said they felt threatened when The Big Issue began to publish in their area.[11] Other papers have also criticised The Big Issue for its professional production and limited participation by homeless individuals in writing and producing the newspaper.[8] Others, however, have stated that The Big Issue uses a successful business model to generate a profit to benefit the homeless, and its founder John Bird has said that it is "possible to be both profitable and ethically correct".[11]

Awards

See also

Further reading

External links

Regional sites

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Paul McNamee . bigissue.com . 11 September 2018.
  2. Web site: The Big Issue - National (Group) . . 21 February 2023 . 15 July 2023.
  3. Web site: Contact Us . bigissue.com . 12 September 2018.
  4. News: Introduction & History . Big Issue . 11 October 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080924193153/http://www.bigissue.com/magazinesite/introduction.html . 24 September 2008 . dead .
  5. Web site: Malawi Magazine to Help Provide Financial Support to Poor . 13 March 2009 . 5 May 2009 . Masina . Lameck . .
  6. Web site: Contact Us . bigissue.com . 11 September 2018.
  7. Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia of Homelessness . David Levinson . Street Newspapers. 538 . Heinz . Teresa L. . 0-7619-2751-4 . 2004 . .
  8. Web site: Small Papers, Big Issues . 2002 . 12 February 2009 . Brown . Ann M. . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070911030448/http://www.rrj.ca/issue/2002/summer/373/ . 11 September 2007 .
  9. Web site: Introduction . The Big Issue . 11 February 2009 . 1 March 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090301153536/http://www.bigissue.com/Introduction_2.php . dead . and Web site: History . The Big Issue . 11 February 2009 . 1 March 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090301141303/http://www.bigissue.com/History_34.php . dead .
  10. Web site: HOW WE MET; JOHN BIRD AND GORDON RODDICK . The Independent . 27 August 1995 . June 10, 2016 . Greenstreet, Rosanna.
  11. Web site: Boukhari . Sophie . The press takes to the street . . . 15 May 2001 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080220220110/http://www.unesco.org/courier/1999_02/uk/connex/txt1.htm . 20 February 2008 .
  12. Web site: Big issue launches first UK-wide edition . Press Gazette . 8 June 2011 . 26 September 2021.
  13. News: Mike Shindoa and Music For Relief: 'Let's power the world' . The Big Issue . 18 September 2012 . Shinoda . Mike . 23 September 2012 . 3 January 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160103000535/http://www.bigissue.com/features/1424/mike-shinoda-and-music-relief-lets-power-world . dead .
  14. News: 7 January 2012 . The Big Issue Magazine: Help the Homeless . . 30 January 2012.
  15. News: Revamped Big Issue hits the streets . BBC News . 16 January 2012 . 30 January 2012.
  16. News: BBC News . Big Issue celebrates 200 million sales . 11 September 2018 . 7 April 2016.
  17. Web site: The Big Issue marks 30th birthday with a special birthday edition and brand new digital editorial strategy . AllMediaScotland . 20 September 2021 . 26 September 2021.
  18. http://www.thebigissue.org.au/about-the-big-issue/about/ About - The Big Issue
  19. http://www.bigissue.jp/english/ "What is the Big Issue Japan?"
  20. http://www.bigissue.com/sites/bigissue/files/TheBigIssuePresentation.pdf The Big Issue Presentation
  21. http://bigissuekr.tistory.com The Big Issue Korea
  22. http://www.bigissue.com/sites/bigissue/files/TheBigIssuePresentation.pdf The Big Issue Presentation
  23. http://www.bigissuenamibia.org/ The Big Issue Namibia
  24. Soul Beat Africa "Big Issue - Namibia", 17 August 2004. accessed 22 May 2015.
  25. http://www.irelandsbigissue.com Ireland's Big Issue
  26. http://depts.washington.edu/stnews/bigissuesa.html Big Issue, South Africa
  27. http://www.bigissue.tw THE BIG ISSUE 大誌雜誌
  28. http://www.bigissue.com/sites/bigissue/files/TheBigIssuePresentation.pdf The Big Issue Presentation
  29. https://launchingvisions.wordpress.com The Big Issue Zambia
  30. Web site: The transnational street paper movement . 12 February 2009 . Magnusson . Jan A. . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060629073232/http://www.nyaorganisationer.soch.lu.se/SituationSthlm.html . 29 June 2006 .
  31. Book: Howley, Kevin . Community Media . Cambridge University Press . 2005 . illustrated . 71 . 0-521-79228-2 . 12 February 2009.
  32. Web site: . World Habitat Day 2006 | Previous Scroll Winners . Un-Habitat. . 26 March 2013 . 2 October 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131004220918/http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=490&cid=2909 . 4 October 2013 . dead .
  33. Web site: Ernst & Young Entrepreneur 2008 award recipients. 2 December 2009. Ernst & Young. 2. 21 October 2014. 24 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924041001/http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EoY_-_2008_award_recipients/$FILE/EY_EOY_2008_award_recipients.pdf. dead.
  34. News: 7 October 2008. Richard Harpin, CEO of Homeserve Plc, is Ernst & Young 'UK Overall Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008'. Ernst & Young. https://web.archive.org/web/20120223234233/http://www.ey.com/UK/en/Newsroom/News-releases/EOY---08-10-07---R-Harpin-UK-EOY-2008. 23 February 2012. 21 October 2014.

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