In 2022, I sat in a cold skate park in South Leeds, wondering how to occupy the two hours waiting for my daughter, and picked up a copy of South Leeds Life. I was instantly hooked, reading it end-to-end and thinking that this is exactly what each Leeds ward needs. That sparked a dream to help create our own East Leeds newspaper.

I, along with a few colleagues reached out to the South Leeds Life and West Leeds Dispatch editors to find out how they created their publications. We received some valuable help and support from them. After that, we kickstarted the process of making our dream of creating a newspaper into a reality. 

Here we are a year later with our first edition going live and a truly amazing team of East Leodians all sharing their superpowers, skills and eye for good content. Teamwork really does make the dream work, and we’re very excited to be on this adventure with you. 

The name of the paper has been kindly gifted to us by the amazing Space 2, from the title of their 140-caste community play of the same name, celebrating all things East Leeds.

We are committed to providing East Leeds news on our own terms, and developing a one-stop service which we hope will inspire, inform, entertain and unite our community.

Jonathan Lawrence, Co-Founder, Editor

I’m an editor and writer for EastSideStory.uk. I’m also the creator of HarehillsLove.uk and the annual Harehills Good News Advent Calendar because I passionately believe in seeing the best in my local community.

Community journalism is an important part of our society. It allows for local voices to be heard, for passionate people to share their stories, and for issues that matter to us to be discussed. It also helps raise awareness of what is happening within and outside our community by championing local causes and holding local authorities accountable.

By doing this, community journalism helps to ensure that our East Leeds neighbourhoods are informed and engaged and that the issues that matter to us are addressed. So I want to push EastSideStory.uk on to do the tremendous work in our community that we know it’s capable of.

Our team is growing by the day so stay tuned as we add more contributors and members of the East Side Story family to this page!

Janine Griffiths, Editor, Journalist

I am a journalist, who has worked in the media industry and public sector for more than 10 years. My background covers regional newspapers, print publications, and digital platforms. At East Side Story, I am one of the editors here at East Side Story. I’m also the creator of janinesjourneys.com and akashictimes.co.uk.

As someone who is passionate about Leeds and the community in which I live, East Side Story is truly an exciting project to be a part of. 

Our aim is not just to showcase the wonderful work and news occurring in East Leeds, it is also about being a champion for equality, justice and giving a voice to the local community.

As soon as I heard about the plans to kickstart a local news service in East Leeds, I immediately jumped on board and became part of the founding team. I’m enormously proud of where we are today and the significant work that the team has put in to make it happen.

However, the launch of this website in 2023 is only the beginning of our journey. In the future, we plan to grow, to learn and work alongside our community in order to be a fundamental voice for change and positivity in East Leeds.