Manchester-based Big Issue North is to cease production, its publishers have announced. A decline in sales since the pandemic and soaring print, paper and energy costs, mean it is 'no longer financially viable' to print the weekly magazine, bosses have said.
From next month vendors in Manchester and other northern towns and cities will instead sell the national version of the magazine.
READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community
Big Issue North editor Kevin Gopal said: "This is a sad moment for independent northern-based publishing and a sign of the difficult commercial outlook for much of the media industry. But I'm grateful for a great 16-year spell – thanks to readers, sources and contacts, a brilliant band of freelance contributors and especially the wonderful editorial team here.
"Hopefully we’ve done good journalism and helped vendors. I'm pleased the vendors will continue to get the support they sorely need."
Big Issue North was founded in Manchester in 1993 as a northern-focussed version of the magazine which helps the homeless and those in poverty. Vendors make half of the £4 cover price on every issue they sell.
That arrangement will remain in place following the switch to Big Issue UK. In January Big Issue founder John Bird said the firm narrowly avoided going bust during the pandemic, as sales were hit by the cost of living crisis and a declining number of people visiting and working in towns and cities.
Big Issue North CEO Fay Selvan, said: "We could not be prouder of the impact that the magazine has had, both in giving marginalised people a chance to work their way out of poverty, and in the stories we have told from our communities. We have explored a number of alternatives, but ultimately, ceasing production and offering the national Big Issue magazine to vendors in the north is the route that gives the best possible opportunity for the most people to earn an income and change their lives.
"This decision is incredibly hard. We don’t take it lightly, but we believe that this is the best possible route to take to ensure that for many years to come, marginalised people in the North facing poverty or homelessness are supported to earn an income, gain support in all areas of their lives, and work towards a more hopeful future."
A souvenir issue of Big Issue North magazine will be on sale from Monday, May 8. Big Issue UK will go on sale across the north the following week.
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
- The 'worst' street where people ask how many more will die
- Prisoners 'running the wings', 'inmates off their t*ts', staff who have 'lost control' - the jail that's had £1bn of public money
- Man raped woman in the woods - then attacked brave dog walker who intervened
- People forced to walk down the Big One as it stops mid-ride AGAIN for second time in weeks
- Manchester's real-life Peaky Blinders only feared one thing
