Introducing The Knot

I'm launching an independent newspaper for Stoke & Staffs

I’m launching an independent news outlet for Stoke and Staffordshire that champions our region and is a positive force for good. It’s called; The Knot. Here’s why I’m doing it.

Change starts with the stories we tell. The stories that are told in this region are overwhelmingly negative. The mainstream news outlet that dominates the narrative in this area feeds off negativity. That publication knows that articles which are negative or degrading towards Stoke and Staffordshire are more likely to get clicks, therefore more of those articles are published and more annoying pop-up ads are served.

Negativity breeds negativity, hate breeds hate, blame breeds blame. These visious cycles need to stop.

What frustrates me more than this particular news outlet’s often (not always) lazy journalism is not so much that they are feeding it to people, it’s that people want to consume it and have no alternative.

The desire to poke fun at where we live, to criticise, to judge and to pity the area is pervasive. It’s an entrenched belief and identity that is so deep, it feels unshakeably true.

“We live in a shithole. Therefore we’re shit, we read shit and we talk shit about our area”

Making the decision to relocate to this area was not easy for me, because this attitude and this culture already pushed me away once. Yet it breaks my heart to imagine this culture continuing to fester and hold people back.

I want to create an antidote to the negative and down-trodden attitudes that are becoming universal in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. I want to provide a refreshing space for uplifting, positive and challenging writing that creates conversation, open dialogue and a new way of thinking.

Too often, we feel powerless to have an impact on where we live and when I get sucked into the comments section of the main news outlets here that’s what I see. I see people who feel powerless and who feel defeated, people that are embittered and battle-worn. People that are critical and skeptical towards absolutely everything regarding the place they call home. Moaning, complaining and wallowing becomes a habit on autopilot.

I won’t live in a place that continues to put itself down. I won’t stand for a culture that immediately decreases someones confidence or self-esteem by their post-code. I know what it’s like to not feel proud of where you are from and who you are. This can impact your whole life, your belief, aspirations and how you feel about yourself.

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have so much to be proud of. That isn’t just a distant industrial history. I mean Stoke and Staffs has a lot to be proud of, now. People here doing great work, people who are kind, caring and passionate. There is a silent majority that love to live here, that are proud of where they are from and who they are. I’m writing for you.

We have some huge issues to tackle too and they’re not going to be solved with a collective defeatism. They’re going to be solved with pragmatism and positivity, so that’s what this newspaper will be about.

The population of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire is roughly 1,000,000 people. I believe that if just 1% of us are willing to step up, take control, take action and lead the change - we can transform this place. That’s who I’m writing for. I’m writing for you. If you live in this area and if you’re passionate about it’s development and growth and you want to be a part of that. The Knot is for you.

To begin with, I’ll be sharing a weekly email issue of The Knot that will be filled with positive news, things to do, places to go and will spotlight great people doing great work.

From there, who knows? I hope to see more people contributing to The Knot. I hope to share some challenging thought-pieces, have some difficult conversations and create a platform for change.

I believe we can do it. I believe we deserve better than what we’ve got in this area and I’m not going to wait around for any handouts to get us there. I’m putting my stake in the ground and calling it The Knot.

I hope you’ll subscribe and join me.

The Knot will be free. That is, until we want to pay journalists to do more work for us. Until then, it will exist through my time and writing, as well as guest contributors. The Knot will be funded through The Knot Group where we partner with organisations on a mission to regenerate Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire. We’ve worked with Staffordshire University, Made in Stoke and created multiple communities to serve this region. We do project work and ongoing retained work that you can find more about here.

I have many ideas for the future of The Knot; membership perks with discounts at local places, in-person events, jobs boards, dating, investigative journalism, events, podcasts and I’m sure many other ideas that will emerge.

The focus initially is to find our first 1,000 Knotters, those who believe in the future of this area and those willing to get stuck in and change it.

Keep an eye out for the first issue of The Knot on Monday morning.