The Fitzrovia News is a free community newspaper produced by volunteers living and working in Fitzrovia, London, United Kingdom. It is an example of what has been called hyperlocal media or community journalism. It is notable because it is "one of the country's oldest community newspapers". It is published by the central London charity the Fitzrovia Neighbourhood Association, which produces the news site and quarterly newspaper as part of its charitable activities. The Fitzrovia News was originally called The Tower and was started by a group of community activists in April 1973 in response to threats to their neighbourhood from building developers and the loss of housing. The name Tower was a reference to the Post Office Tower now the BT Tower which stands near the geographic heart of the neighbourhood. The Tower was produced from the flat of Judith Thomas, a local resident. The paper was renamed Fitzrovia News in 1980 when it was produced by the Fitzrovia Community Newspaper Group from the recently established Fitzrovia Neighbourhood Centre. The paper is printed in a tabloid format four times a year and distributed by volunteers to all residents in the London neighbourhood of Fitzrovia. Like many hyperlocal media, the Fitzrovia News makes extensive use of freely available digital media: blog softwareWordPress and social mediaTwitter, Facebook; location-based social-networking Foursquare; and visual mediaFlickr and YouTube. Fitzrovia News has taken a critical stance on many issues affecting Fitzrovia and the people who live and work there. In February 2011 it carried two articles supporting the occupation by the of a house in Fitzroy Square owned by film-maker Guy Richie and criticised the mainstream media for inaccurate reporting of the neighbourhood. The newspaper is led by editor Mike Pentelow, an author and former trade union journalist; and has featured illustrations by the cartoonist Kipper Williams and the woodcuts of Clifford Harper. Fitzrovia News is a non-profit paper supported by the Fitzrovia Neighbourhood Association and by advertising from local businesses and services, and by public donations.
