Street News is available now on Apple and Android devices.
Street News, a news app from the publishers of Big Issue North, brings together the best from the planet’s street papers. As the app turns one, we take a look at the impact it has had over the past year, learn more here.
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 around 100 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 350,000 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 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 and helps vendors in the North of England to make positive changes to their lives.
Street News offers readers impactful analysis, fresh insight and authentic stories from people who don’t typically get their fair share of the spotlight. It 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.
