The Londoner

What The Londoner does

The Londoner is a London-focused digital local news publication operated by Mill Media, the independent media company founded by Joshi Herrmann in 2020. It delivers narrative, investigative local journalism — covering London politics, housing, culture, courts, and human-interest investigations — primarily through a twice-weekly email newsletter (Monday briefing and weekend long-read) and a Ghost CMS-hosted website at the-londoner.co.uk. The editorial product is gated behind a freemium subscription model: free readers receive two weekly emails, while paying members (£4.95/month intro, £7.45/month annual, £8.95/month standard, plus a higher 'Super Supporter' tier and gift subscriptions) unlock the full archive and member-only investigations. A secondary revenue stream comes from sponsored newsletter slots in the Monday briefing, reaching an audience of approximately 15,000 readers, with enquiries handled via Mill Media.

The publication is staffed by a small but credentialed newsroom including editor Hannah Williams (formerly of the New Yorker, Guardian, New Statesman, and FT), investigations editor Cameron Barr (formerly senior managing editor at the Washington Post with oversight of 13 Pulitzer Prizes), and staff writer Andrew Kersley (ex-Observer, Sunday Times, Mirror, Private Eye). Distribution is owned end-to-end: the Ghost portal handles self-serve signup and payment, while social profiles on X, BlueSky, Facebook, and Instagram amplify stories. Tips are collected via an anonymous Jotform, feeding an investigative pipeline that has produced high-profile work on Grenfell, the Barbican, Hammersmith Bridge, e-bike fires, fare evasion, and a London property-scammer exposé — the latter of which triggered a £250,000 libel claim now being defended in the High Court.

Name

The Londoner

Legal name

The Londoner (published by Mill Media)

Website

https://the-londoner.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Londoner is a London-focused digital local news publication delivering narrative, investigative journalism via email newsletters and a Ghost CMS-hosted website, monetized through reader subscriptions (roughly 800+ paying members) and sponsored newsletter editions serving about 15,000 readers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Local News Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

Keywords

• Local journalism
• Investigative reporting
• Email newsletter
• Digital news media
• Narrative journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Paid newsletter/membership subscriptions: Recurring reader subscriptions billed monthly or annually, with member-only access to investigations, archive, and editor's notes. Listed pricing: £7.45/month (annual), £8.95/month (standard), £4.95/month introductory for 3 months, and promotional £1.25/week summer discount.
2. Sponsored newsletter editions: Sponsored slots in Monday briefing editions reaching over 15,000 readers; advertisers can get in touch via [email protected] or the 'Advertise' page.
3. Gift subscriptions: Gift subscriptions promoted via dedicated 'Gifts' page to give quality journalism as a present.
4. Freelance commission fees (outflow rather than inflow): Note: The Londoner pays freelance writers ~£300 for quick-hit pieces and ~£500+ for more reported pieces, with higher fees for major investigations; this represents a cost, not a revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Londoner is a London-focused digital local newspaper that publishes deeply-reported, narrative-driven journalism on London politics, culture, investigations, and human-interest stories, delivered primarily through a free weekly email newsletter (a Monday briefing and a weekend long-read) on its website the-londoner.co.uk. Paying members (£4.95–£8.95/month) receive full access to members-only investigations, the full archive, and editor's notes; the publication also sells sponsored newsletter slots to advertisers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Londoner weekly email newsletter (Monday briefing + weekend long-read) The Londoner's flagship free product: a weekly email newsletter covering London politics, culture, investigations, and human-interest stories, with a Monday briefing edition and a weekend long-read edition, delivered via the publication's Ghost-hosted portal to a London-affiliated readership of around 15,000 readers per edition.
• Paid Londoner membership (full access to investigations, archive, and editor's notes) Recurring reader subscription that unlocks paywalled investigations, the full archive, and members-only editor's notes from Joshi Herrmann; billed monthly or annually, with optional Super Supporter / gift tiers. Targeted at engaged London readers who want to support independent local journalism and read months-long investigations not available elsewhere.
• Sponsored newsletter editions (Monday briefing advertising) Advertising product offering sponsored slots inside the Monday briefing newsletter edition, giving brands and cultural organisations direct access to The Londoner's engaged London audience of roughly 15,000 readers per edition. Sold direct via the publication's advertising lead.
• Gift subscription to The Londoner Distinct paid product allowing readers to purchase a Londoner membership as a gift for another person, promoted via the publication's dedicated 'Gifts' page and used to drive word-of-mouth subscriber growth.

Quantifiable outcome

• £4.95/month entry subscription; £7.45/month annual plan; £8.95/month standard subscription
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Mill MediaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMill Media is the independent media company founded by Joshi Herrmann in 2020 that founded and publishes The Londoner. Mill Media is co-defendant in the Di Giovanni libel action alongside Joshi Herrmann and reporter Cormac Kehoe, and provides the corporate and editorial backbone for the publication.
• Reviewed & ClearedcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPre-publication media lawyers who review The Londoner's stories for defamation and privacy issues. Featured as 'the people who stop The Londoner being sued' in the newsletter. Trusted by small players like The Londoner as well as large clients like Netflix and News UK.
• Lewis Silkin (law firm)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal solicitors (Anne Mannion and Ali Vaziri) representing The Londoner in defending the £250,000 libel claim brought by Claudio Di Giovanni at the Royal Courts of Justice.
• Doughty Street ChamberscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBarrister Claire Overman of Doughty Street Chambers representing The Londoner in court, telling the judge the defence was 'bound to succeed' in the Di Giovanni libel case.
• Fleet Street Quarter (Festival of Words 2026)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsorship partnership for the Fleet Street Festival of Words (7–16 May 2026). Sponsored content blocks embedded in Londoner stories link through to the festival's ticketing pages.
• Ghost (publishing platform)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe Londoner is hosted on Ghost CMS (open-source publishing platform) — assets served from storage.ghost.io and signup/signin flows use Ghost's portal/membership system.
• Centre for Investigative JournalismminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReporter Cormac Kehoe served as a Fellow at the Centre for Investigative Journalism; the CIJ is part of The Londoner's journalist development ecosystem.
• Index on CensorshipminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndex on Censorship publicly expressed awareness of The Londoner's Di Giovanni legal predicament and provided a supportive quote for the publication's editor's note on SLAPPs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Ferret: Scotland-based reader-supported investigative journalism outlet with a cooperative membership model; comparable as a small-team, subscription/member-funded UK local investigations publication.
• De Correspondent: Dutch reader-funded investigative journalism platform launched on a similar 'no clickbait, deep reporting, member-supported' mission; widely cited as the strategic inspiration for Mill Media's local-news model and highly comparable in business model if not geography.
• London Centric: Independent, subscriber-funded London local journalism outlet launched in 2023 covering London news, politics, and investigations; the closest head-to-head competitor to The Londoner on geography, format, and reader-supported model.
• Mill Media sister titles (e.g., The Mill, Tribune UK): Other publications inside Mill Media, the same parent company founded by Joshi Herrmann that publishes The Londoner; identical reader-funded, newsletter-led, Ghost-CMS playbook applied to other UK cities, making them the closest direct peers operationally.
• The Bristol Cable: Reader-funded, cooperative local investigative outlet covering Bristol; same member-supported, ad-light, investigative-narrative positioning aimed at a single UK city, making it a strong functional peer despite different ownership structure.

Broad incumbents

• Time Out London: Established London listings, culture, and features brand that overlaps with The Londoner's culture, pubs, and 'what's on in London' coverage; much larger and ad-supported, but a relevant incumbent for London audiences and advertisers.
• Evening Standard / The Standard: Legacy London newspaper (where founder Joshi Herrmann began his career in 2011) covering London news, politics, and culture; the dominant London local news brand and direct competitive backdrop for The Londoner's audience and advertisers.

Others

• Index on Censorship: UK-based press freedom organisation that has publicly supported The Londoner over the Di Giovanni SLAPP case; not a commercial peer but a relevant ecosystem organisation given shared mission around media freedom and anti-SLAPP advocacy.

Emerging players

• Inside Croydon: Independent, reader-supported hyper-local London outlet focused on the borough of Croydon; comparable as a small-team, subscription/donation-funded London investigations and news publication, albeit at sub-borough scale.
• Substack (creator publications): Platform hosting numerous independent London and UK newsletters (e.g., London Centric, Inside Croydon); uses the same newsletter-first, subscriber-paid model and represents the closest platform-level competitive set for solo and small-team London writers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_TheLondoner
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• Instagraminstagram.com/thelondoner_mag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Londoner