A journalist who set up an independent city news title has revealed plans to launch a newspaper.

Reece Stafferton, who founded online publication the Leicester Citizen, says he hopes to move the title into print based on the cooperative model of the Bristol Cable.

Reece, pictured, has revealed his future ambition for the Citizen as he prepares to relaunch the digital newsletter next month to focus on long-form feature writing and investigations.

He founded the title in April and initially covered “typical news content” from across Leicestershire, but found it “wasn’t sustainable”.

Speaking to HTFP, Reece shared his belief that trust in UK journalism is “rapidly deteriorating” and described the Citizen as his attempt “to repair this trust and provide an alternative for local communities”.

He said: “I want the newsletter to have a personal, immersive, and investigative feel. People want to pay for that. They don’t want to pay for news, which they can get elsewhere.

“As the newsletter grows I hope to offer a paid option or an alternative business model which local people will be able to contribute to directly.

“I’ve always admired cooperatives, and I think this newsletter could act as a springboard for a new cooperative newspaper, like the Bristol Cable.

“I’m currently searching for people to explore ways we can make that happen, but in the meantime the newsletter itself is growing steadily.

“We’ve got hundreds of readers visiting the website every week.”

Reece has lived in Leicester for five years and studied investigative journalism at the city’s De Montfort University.

He added: “With a firm commitment to high-quality journalism, our early successes prove independent news can flourish in the digital age – without advertisements or corporate sponsors.”