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The Big Issue

January 01, 1970

"Big Issue" redirects here. For the South Korean television series, see Big Issue (TV series).

The Big Issue is a street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. The Big Issue is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people, or individuals at risk of homelessness, the opportunity to earn a legitimate income, thereby helping them to reintegrate into mainstream society. It is the world's most widely circulated street newspaper.[7][8]

The Big Issue
The Big Issue
Editor-in-chiefPaul McNamee[1]
CategoriesEntertainment and Current Affairs
Frequencyweekly
Circulation57,059 (as of 2022)[2]
First issueSeptember 1991
CompanyThe Big Issue[3]
CountryUnited Kingdom
Australia
Ireland
Japan
South Africa
South Korea
Namibia
Kenya
Taiwan[4]
Malawi[5]
Based inLondon, United Kingdom[6]
LanguageEnglish (UK Edition)
Websitebigissue.com

History edit

Inspired by Street News, a newspaper sold by homeless people in New York City, The Big Issue was founded in 1991 by John Bird and Gordon Roddick (husband of The Body Shop entrepreneur Anita Roddick) as a response to the increasing numbers of homeless people in London.[9][10] The Body Shop provided the equivalent of $50,000 in start-up capital.[11] The magazine was initially published monthly but in June 1993, The Big Issue went weekly. The venture continued to expand with national editions being established in Scotland and Wales, as well as regional editions for Northern England and South West England. Further editions are also produced in seven locations overseas.

In 1995, The Big Issue Foundation was founded to offer additional support and advice to vendors around issues such as housing, health, personal finance and addiction. Between 2007 and 2011, the circulation of The Big Issue declined from 167,000 to less than 125,000. Competition between vendors also increased at this time. From July 2011, the different regional editions were merged into a single UK-wide magazine.[12] In January 2012, the magazine was relaunched, with an increased focus on campaigning and political journalism. New columnists were added, including the Premier League footballer Joey Barton, Rachel Johnson, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park[13] and Samira Ahmed. The cover price was also increased.[14][15]

In 2016, The Big Issue celebrated surpassing 200 million magazine sales.[16] In September 2021, the magazine celebrated its 30th birthday. [17]

Ethos edit

The magazine is produced by the Big Issue Company Ltd. The company is a self-sustaining business that generates income through magazine sales and advertising revenues. Financially, The Big Issue is a social enterprise. The Big Issue Foundation is the registered charity arm of the organisation. It aims to underpin the company's work by tackling the underlying causes of homelessness.

 
The Big Issue for sale in Japan, 2017

Overseas projects edit

There are nine Big Issue projects by the same name in other nations.

  • The Big Issue Australia (from June 1996)[18]
  • The Big Issue France (from October 1993): In France, a non-profit organisation named Big Issue France created with support from John Bird the magazine against exclusion called La Rue.
  • The Big Issue Japan (from November 2003)[19]
  • The Big Issue Kenya (from 2007)[20]
  • The Big Issue Korea (from July 2010)[21]
  • The Big Issue Malawi (from 2009)[22]
  • The Big Issue Namibia[23][24]
  • The Big Issue The Republic of Ireland [25]
  • The Big Issue South Africa (from December 1996)[26]
  • The Big Issue Taiwan (from April 2010)[27]
  • The Big Issue Zambia (from 2007)[28][29]

Criticism edit

Further information: Street newspaper § Differing approaches

The Big Issue has been the centre of much controversy among publishers of street newspapers, mainly because of its business model.[8][30] Publishers of some other street newspapers, especially in the United States, have criticised it for being overly "commercial" and having a flashy design. According to these critics, street newspapers ought to focus on covering political and social issues that affect the homeless, rather than emulating mainstream newspapers to generate a profit.[11][31] Publishers of some smaller papers, such as Making Change in Santa Monica, California, said they felt threatened when The Big Issue began to publish in their area.[11][31] Other papers have also criticised The Big Issue for its professional production and limited participation by homeless individuals in writing and producing the newspaper.[8] Others, however, have stated that The Big Issue uses a successful business model to generate a profit to benefit the homeless, and its founder John Bird has said that it is "possible to be both profitable and ethically correct".[11]

Awards edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Paul McNamee". bigissue.com. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  2. ^ "The Big Issue - National (Group)". Audit Bureau of Circulations. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Contact Us". bigissue.com. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  4. ^ . Big Issue. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  5. ^ Masina, Lameck (13 March 2009). "Malawi Magazine to Help Provide Financial Support to Poor". Voice of America. Retrieved 5 May 2009.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Contact Us". bigissue.com. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  7. ^ Heinz, Teresa L. (2004). "Street Newspapers". In David Levinson (ed.). Encyclopedia of Homelessness. SAGE Publications. p. 538. ISBN 0-7619-2751-4.
  8. ^ a b c Brown, Ann M. (2002). . Ryerson Review of Journalism. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  9. ^ . The Big Issue. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2009. and . The Big Issue. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
  10. ^ Greenstreet, Rosanna (27 August 1995). "HOW WE MET; JOHN BIRD AND GORDON RODDICK". The Independent. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d Boukhari, Sophie (15 May 2001). . The UNESCO Courier. UNESCO. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008.
  12. ^ "Big issue launches first UK-wide edition". Press Gazette. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  13. ^ Shinoda, Mike (18 September 2012). . The Big Issue. Archived from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  14. ^ "The Big Issue Magazine: Help the Homeless". The Economist. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  15. ^ "Revamped Big Issue hits the streets". BBC News. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  16. ^ "Big Issue celebrates 200 million sales". BBC News. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  17. ^ "The Big Issue marks 30th birthday with a special birthday edition and brand new digital editorial strategy". AllMediaScotland. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  18. ^ About - The Big Issue www.thebigissue.org.au accessed 22 May 2015.
  19. ^ "What is the Big Issue Japan?" www.bigissue.jp accessed 22 May 2015.
  20. ^ The Big Issue Presentation www.bigissue.com 7 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine accessed 22 May 2015.
  21. ^ The Big Issue Korea bigissuekr.tistory.com accessed 22 May 2015
  22. ^ The Big Issue Presentation www.bigissue.com 7 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine accessed 22 May 2015.
  23. ^ The Big Issue Namibia www.bigissuenamibia.org accessed 22 May 2015. 5 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ Soul Beat Africa "Big Issue - Namibia", 17 August 2004. accessed 22 May 2015.
  25. ^ Ireland's Big Issue www.irelandsbigissue.com accessed 22 May 2015.
  26. ^ Big Issue, South Africa depts.washington.edu accessed 22 May 2015.
  27. ^ THE BIG ISSUE 大誌雜誌 www.bigissue.tw accessed 22 May 2015.
  28. ^ The Big Issue Presentation www.bigissue.com 7 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine accessed 22 May 2015.
  29. ^ The Big Issue Zambia launchingvisions.wordpress.com accessed May 22, 2015.
  30. ^ Magnusson, Jan A. . Situation Sthlm. Archived from the original on 29 June 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  31. ^ a b Howley, Kevin (2005). Community Media (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 71. ISBN 0-521-79228-2. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  32. ^ . Un-Habitat. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  33. ^ (PDF). Ernst & Young. 2 December 2009. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  34. ^ . Ernst & Young. 7 October 2008. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2014.

Further reading edit

  • Hanks, Sinead; Tessa Swithinbank (1999). "The Big Issue and other street papers: a response to homelessness". Environment and Urbanization. 9 (1): 149–158. doi:10.1177/095624789700900112. S2CID 155008284.
  • Swithinbank, Tessa (2001). Coming Up from the Streets: The Story of The Big Issue. Earthscan. pp. 21–33. ISBN 1-85383-544-7. Retrieved 11 March 2009.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Big Issue.
  • Official site
  • "Ethical Entrepreneurs" John Bird founder of The Big Issue, talks about his early life and entrepreneurial journey
Regional sites
  • 빅이슈코리아
  • 大誌雜誌中文版

January 01, 1970
issue, issue, redirects, here, south, korean, television, series, issue, series, street, newspaper, founded, john, bird, gordon, roddick, september, 1991, published, four, continents, leading, social, businesses, exists, offer, homeless, people, individuals, r. Big Issue redirects here For the South Korean television series see Big Issue TV series The Big Issue is a street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents The Big Issue is one of the UK s leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people or individuals at risk of homelessness the opportunity to earn a legitimate income thereby helping them to reintegrate into mainstream society It is the world s most widely circulated street newspaper 7 8 The Big IssueThe Big IssueEditor in chiefPaul McNamee 1 CategoriesEntertainment and Current AffairsFrequencyweeklyCirculation57 059 as of 2022 2 First issueSeptember 1991CompanyThe Big Issue 3 CountryUnited KingdomAustraliaIrelandJapanSouth AfricaSouth KoreaNamibiaKenyaTaiwan 4 Malawi 5 Based inLondon United Kingdom 6 LanguageEnglish UK Edition Websitebigissue com Contents 1 History 2 Ethos 3 Overseas projects 4 Criticism 5 Awards 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistory editInspired by Street News a newspaper sold by homeless people in New York City The Big Issue was founded in 1991 by John Bird and Gordon Roddick husband of The Body Shop entrepreneur Anita Roddick as a response to the increasing numbers of homeless people in London 9 10 The Body Shop provided the equivalent of 50 000 in start up capital 11 The magazine was initially published monthly but in June 1993 The Big Issue went weekly The venture continued to expand with national editions being established in Scotland and Wales as well as regional editions for Northern England and South West England Further editions are also produced in seven locations overseas In 1995 The Big Issue Foundation was founded to offer additional support and advice to vendors around issues such as housing health personal finance and addiction Between 2007 and 2011 the circulation of The Big Issue declined from 167 000 to less than 125 000 Competition between vendors also increased at this time From July 2011 the different regional editions were merged into a single UK wide magazine 12 In January 2012 the magazine was relaunched with an increased focus on campaigning and political journalism New columnists were added including the Premier League footballer Joey Barton Rachel Johnson Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park 13 and Samira Ahmed The cover price was also increased 14 15 In 2016 The Big Issue celebrated surpassing 200 million magazine sales 16 In September 2021 the magazine celebrated its 30th birthday 17 Ethos editThe magazine is produced by the Big Issue Company Ltd The company is a self sustaining business that generates income through magazine sales and advertising revenues Financially The Big Issue is a social enterprise The Big Issue Foundation is the registered charity arm of the organisation It aims to underpin the company s work by tackling the underlying causes of homelessness nbsp The Big Issue for sale in Japan 2017Overseas projects editThere are nine Big Issue projects by the same name in other nations The Big Issue Australia from June 1996 18 The Big Issue France from October 1993 In France a non profit organisation named Big Issue France created with support from John Bird the magazine against exclusion called La Rue The Big Issue Japan from November 2003 19 The Big Issue Kenya from 2007 20 The Big Issue Korea from July 2010 21 The Big Issue Malawi from 2009 22 The Big Issue Namibia 23 24 The Big Issue The Republic of Ireland 25 The Big Issue South Africa from December 1996 26 The Big Issue Taiwan from April 2010 27 The Big Issue Zambia from 2007 28 29 Criticism editThis section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information June 2012 Further information Street newspaper Differing approaches The Big Issue has been the centre of much controversy among publishers of street newspapers mainly because of its business model 8 30 Publishers of some other street newspapers especially in the United States have criticised it for being overly commercial and having a flashy design According to these critics street newspapers ought to focus on covering political and social issues that affect the homeless rather than emulating mainstream newspapers to generate a profit 11 31 Publishers of some smaller papers such as Making Change in Santa Monica California said they felt threatened when The Big Issue began to publish in their area 11 31 Other papers have also criticised The Big Issue for its professional production and limited participation by homeless individuals in writing and producing the newspaper 8 Others however have stated that The Big Issue uses a successful business model to generate a profit to benefit the homeless and its founder John Bird has said that it is possible to be both profitable and ethically correct 11 Awards editOctober 2004 UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award 32 October 2008 Ernst amp Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year award 33 34 See also editHomelessness in the United Kingdom International Network of Street Papers Lucy JohnstonReferences edit Paul McNamee bigissue com Retrieved 11 September 2018 The Big Issue National Group Audit Bureau of Circulations 21 February 2023 Retrieved 15 July 2023 Contact Us bigissue com Retrieved 12 September 2018 Introduction amp History Big Issue Archived from the original on 24 September 2008 Retrieved 11 October 2008 Masina Lameck 13 March 2009 Malawi Magazine to Help Provide Financial Support to Poor Voice of America Retrieved 5 May 2009 permanent dead link Contact Us bigissue com Retrieved 11 September 2018 Heinz Teresa L 2004 Street Newspapers In David Levinson ed Encyclopedia of Homelessness SAGE Publications p 538 ISBN 0 7619 2751 4 a b c Brown Ann M 2002 Small Papers Big Issues Ryerson Review of Journalism Archived from the original on 11 September 2007 Retrieved 12 February 2009 Introduction The Big Issue Archived from the original on 1 March 2009 Retrieved 11 February 2009 and History The Big Issue Archived from the original on 1 March 2009 Retrieved 11 February 2009 Greenstreet Rosanna 27 August 1995 HOW WE MET JOHN BIRD AND GORDON RODDICK The Independent Retrieved 10 June 2016 a b c d Boukhari Sophie 15 May 2001 The press takes to the street The UNESCO Courier UNESCO Archived from the original on 20 February 2008 Big issue launches first UK wide edition Press Gazette 8 June 2011 Retrieved 26 September 2021 Shinoda Mike 18 September 2012 Mike Shindoa and Music For Relief Let s power the world The Big Issue Archived from the original on 3 January 2016 Retrieved 23 September 2012 The Big Issue Magazine Help the Homeless The Economist 7 January 2012 Retrieved 30 January 2012 Revamped Big Issue hits the streets BBC News 16 January 2012 Retrieved 30 January 2012 Big Issue celebrates 200 million sales BBC News 7 April 2016 Retrieved 11 September 2018 The Big Issue marks 30th birthday with a special birthday edition and brand new digital editorial strategy AllMediaScotland 20 September 2021 Retrieved 26 September 2021 About The Big Issue www thebigissue org au accessed 22 May 2015 What is the Big Issue Japan www bigissue jp accessed 22 May 2015 The Big Issue Presentation www bigissue com Archived 7 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine accessed 22 May 2015 The Big Issue Korea bigissuekr tistory com accessed 22 May 2015 The Big Issue Presentation www bigissue com Archived 7 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine accessed 22 May 2015 The Big Issue Namibia www bigissuenamibia org accessed 22 May 2015 Archived 5 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Soul Beat Africa Big Issue Namibia 17 August 2004 accessed 22 May 2015 Ireland s Big Issue www irelandsbigissue com accessed 22 May 2015 Big Issue South Africa depts washington edu accessed 22 May 2015 THE BIG ISSUE 大誌雜誌 www bigissue tw accessed 22 May 2015 The Big Issue Presentation www bigissue com Archived 7 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine accessed 22 May 2015 The Big Issue Zambia launchingvisions wordpress com accessed May 22 2015 Magnusson Jan A The transnational street paper movement Situation Sthlm Archived from the original on 29 June 2006 Retrieved 12 February 2009 a b Howley Kevin 2005 Community Media illustrated ed Cambridge University Press p 71 ISBN 0 521 79228 2 Retrieved 12 February 2009 World Habitat Day 2006 Previous Scroll Winners Un Habitat 26 March 2013 Archived from the original on 4 October 2013 Retrieved 2 October 2013 Ernst amp Young Entrepreneur 2008 award recipients PDF Ernst amp Young 2 December 2009 p 2 Archived from the original PDF on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 21 October 2014 Richard Harpin CEO of Homeserve Plc is Ernst amp Young UK Overall Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008 Ernst amp Young 7 October 2008 Archived from the original on 23 February 2012 Retrieved 21 October 2014 Further reading editHanks Sinead Tessa Swithinbank 1999 The Big Issue and other street papers a response to homelessness Environment and Urbanization 9 1 149 158 doi 10 1177 095624789700900112 S2CID 155008284 Swithinbank Tessa 2001 Coming Up from the Streets The Story of The Big Issue Earthscan pp 21 33 ISBN 1 85383 544 7 Retrieved 11 March 2009 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Big Issue Official site Ethical Entrepreneurs John Bird founder of The Big Issue talks about his early life and entrepreneurial journey Regional sites 빅이슈코리아 Northern England Scotland South West England 大誌雜誌中文版 Wales Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Big Issue amp oldid 1206190293, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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