Blog Preston began in 2009 and has a commitment to covering news, views and info in the city of Preston, Lancashire and the surrounding area.

Since that time we've grown to become a news website which regularly sets the agenda in the city and has a readership of more than 150,000 people per month (with 70% of those from the PR postcode area) and more than 900,000 views on the site each month.

Our social media reach amplifies this, with Blog Preston content regularly seen more than 9million times a month across Facebook, Instagram, email newsletters, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, X and Bluesky.

We're a Community Interest Company so what we make through advertising and other revenue streams is reinvested back into more reporting on the city and surrounding area.

Our website is more than 10 years old and we have invested in a significant development of it, along with looking at introducing an opportunity for readers and organisations to contribute and support our independent journalism. Our stories will always remain free to read.

This informal event gives you an opportunity to see how the new look Blog Preston is coming along, meet the team and find out more about what we do and how we do it.

We'll have a short presentation from Preston-based 3ManFactory who are leading the re-design of the Blog Preston site, and then you'll also hear from Blog Preston editors Luke Beardsworth, Kate Rosindale and Ed Walker. Our community journalism intern Alice Jones will also share her experience of working with Blog Preston so far. Plus plenty of time for questions!

The event is also part of Indie News Week, running across the UK from wb 9 June to showcase what independent news providers like Blog Preston do within their communities.

The evolution of Blog Preston