Big Issue North launches news app to give access to global street paper movement

Street News, a news app from the publishers of Big Issue North, is launching today, bringing together the best from the planet’s 150 street papers.

The app shares its name with the first ever street paper, launched in New York in 1989. That paper gave people experiencing poverty the chance to earn an income by selling the publication on the streets.

Since then, the movement has grown to include more than 150 street papers worldwide, all with a shared mission to alleviate poverty, including two in the UK – The Big Issue and Big Issue North. Linked together in an international network, street papers have supported around 300,000 of the world’s poorest people to earn an income, putting over £24m in their pockets each year.

Globally, 4.6m people read street papers, and now the Street News app gives people the chance to reach crucial stories from their own communities and every corner of the world, all on their mobile.

The stories on the app raise the voices of marginalised communities around the world and the issues they face, while delivering positive change in the North of England.

It’s free to download, and you can read up to five stories a month without paying a penny; however, if users want unlimited access to all content, there is a monthly £4.99 subscription option. Crucially, all income from subscriptions goes to Big Issue North Trust (a registered charity) and helps vendors in the North of England to make positive changes to their lives.

It offers readers impactful analysis, fresh insight and authentic stories from people who don’t typically get their fair share of the spotlight. Current content varies from an exploration of a housing project for people experiencing homelessness post-hospitalisation in Tennessee, USA, to a deep-dive into the exacerbation of the UK’s food poverty crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The app also features news from organisations delivering on the ground change across the planet, from Médecins Sans Frontières to Save the Children. At all times, the focus is on giving a voice to people at the heart of issues, not speaking for them.

Kevin Gopal, Big Issue North’s editor, said: “The launch of Street News marks a significant point for us. It gives us the chance to look at issues that affect people all over the world and gives them the chance to have their voice heard, while retaining our core principle of creating positive change here in the North of England.

“We can offer our readers great insight into marginalised communities that they might not know about and enable people who don’t currently buy a copy of Big Issue North from their local vendor a way to hear these stories, increase their understanding and support local change. Street News tells a global story and makes a local impact.””

Street News is available now on Apple and Android devices. Visit your app store and search ‘Street News’.