An ultra-local newspaper is striving to tap into communities which the mainstream press could be neglecting.

Called Local Edition, it was launched last year by former magazine journalist Clare White and covers the area north of Stoke-on-Trent.

Clare, (27), told holdthefrontpage: "Where I am living is a regeneration area of Stoke and there was very little information about it.

"You didn't know what was going on – I just started the paper as a way of addressing that.

"There was a lot of business initiatives coming into the area so I wondered if a not-for-profit newspaper would work.

"I got into this because I didn't want to work in the mainstream press but did want to work locally. You don't have as much freedom on bigger papers."

The fortnightly tabloid has an editorial staff of just one with Clare as reporter, sub-editor, business manager and everything else in between.

She is backed by freelance news and sports reporters, photographers and a team of about 20 volunteer contributors, meaning less advertising is required for the paper to be sustainable.

Advertisers help out with the elements of the paper, such as design, in exchange for cheaper advertising space.

Financial support has also been provided through business sponsorship and bodies such as Renew North Staffordshire and Lottery grants.

Clare says she has no desire for the social enterprise newspaper to rival bigger weekly and daily papers in north Staffordshire area but has often seen her stories followed up elsewhere.

The operation is now expanding to a stage where a full-time reporter will be required in the near future.

Clare added: "It's been really well received. It has boosted awareness of this area and I think it has encouraged people to get stories out to the media, just because we're taking an interest in the area.

"But we still have a long way to go and there are still a lot of stories we're not reporting."

Each Local Edition is also available to read online.

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