Since 1873, the Lowestoft Journal has been there with you.
Right now we reach more of you in print and via digital than we ever have before.
But now more than ever before, our work to inform and entertain you is in danger - and we need your help to build a sustainable future for our title.
Over the years we’ll have made you think, made you smile, made you angry, made you proud of our region.
Our first edition was just eight broadsheet pages and promised: “Every attention will be paid to questions which have special interest to the visitors, inhabitants and traders of Lowestoft.” Now, 146 years and thousands of editions later it has evolved into The Journal as it is today, but still with the same ethos of providing comprehensive coverage of local news and investigative issues of interest to visitors and inhabitants alike.
In the 1980s The Journal spearheaded a major campaign to raise £450,000 in 27 months which enabled the RNLI to purchase the “Spirit of Lowestoft” lifeboat, named in recognition of the huge public support at the time.
Serving the town for 27 years, the lifeboat was launched a total of 551 times, rescuing 661 people and saving 83 lives.
Our Make It Safe For Mantha campaign helped bring a traffic light-controlled crossing point to the A12 Yarmouth Road where six-year-old Samantha Castledine had been killed in March 2007.
And in May 2010, the Marina Theatre was saved after a series of front page stories led to a charitable trust being agreed with the council to operate the theatre.
Today, with journalism already under pressure and coronavirus making finances even tighter, more and more communities are no longer represented by a local newspaper. Corruption goes unpunished. Bad decisions go unchecked. Fake news spreads uncorrected on social media.
To stop that happening in our region, we are inviting readers of our websites to give their financial support to our work. You can contribute any amount you like, as a one-off or a recurring contribution.
I believe that accurate, useful, honest, local journalism is vital to our future and I know you believe that too.
That’s why I hope you will help us. Every single gesture of support will keep us fighting for you and our region.
Thank you
Andrew Fitchett, Editor
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