Share Your Stories with West Dorset (Bioregional) News

Same Mission, New Name

As many of you will know, we've long referenced the "Bridport bioregion" which, as we define it, roughly aligns with the area of West Dorset shown in the maps below.

This topographic map illustrates the "life place"—or bioregion—we're talking about, following the hills from Lyme Regis up to Beaminster, down to West Bexington, and extending into the Lyme Bay Marine Reserve:

Essentially, it corresponds to the water catchments of these rivers: Asker, Bride, Brit (Lower), Brit (Upper), Char, Mangerton Brook, Monkton Wyld Stream, and Simene as shown here:

This has always been the intended scope of our organising, and with members already living outside of Bridport, we felt it was important to adopt a name that reflects both our geographical focus and is more inclusive of our wider community. That’s in part why United Diversity Bridport has become West Dorset Commons, and with this change, our newsletter—formerly Bridport Community News—has also been renamed West Dorset News.

Let’s Tell Our Own Stories!

"Change the story, change the future!"

From the very beginning, we’ve aimed to create something like The Bristol Cable—a community-owned newspaper and media co-op—where we can tell our own stories. As David C Korten, author of The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, succinctly put it in a 2006 talk:

"The key to changing the course of the human future is to change the stories by which we live"

We want to build a platform that returns the power of storytelling to the community. While this newsletter has so far been used primarily to promote our MMMM! Monday Movie, Meal & Mingling events, it’s part of a larger vision—one that could grow into a broader platform for sharing news and stories from across West Dorset. We hope this newsletter is just the beginning of something much bigger!

For now, we’d like to extend this platform to other projects in West Dorset that share our vision: to make the West Dorset bioregion a home to thriving people, in a thriving place, while respecting the wellbeing of all people and the health of the planet. If your project aligns with this mission, please contact our editor at josef@uniteddiversity.coop so he can invite you to be a contributor – we'd love to share your news!

Don’t We Already Have a Local Paper?

Not really. Bridport & Lyme Regis News is owned by Newsquest Media Group Ltd, which in turn is owned by the American mass media holding company Gannett, part of the New Media Investment Group, owned by Fortress Investment Group, and ultimately controlled by Mubadala, a state-owned global investment firm of the government of Abu Dhabi.

Ultra Concentrated Media Ownership

According to the Media Reform Coalition's 2023 report, Who Owns the UK Media?:

Just 3 companies dominate 90% of national newspaper circulation —DMG Media (Daily Mail, Metro, i), News UK (The Sun, The Times), and Reach (Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star).
71% of the UK’s 1,189 local newspapers (including print and online-only titles) are owned by just six companies.

This is why we believe in creating a truly independent, community-owned media platform—one where we tell our own stories, rather than relying on corporations that often have little connection to our local communities.

We Are Everywhere, Together We Have Everything

Years ago, research into cultural creatives—people driven by values of sustainability, social justice, and community—found that they were the fastest-growing group at the time. Yet when asked, "Do you think other people think like you?", they overwhelmingly answered "No."

That was then. Things have changed. Now, We Are Everywhere, and Together We Have Everything.

Across West Dorset, countless people and projects are working towards a thriving, regenerative future. But too often, these efforts remain disconnected—many still don’t know about each other’s activities. If we share our stories of positive change, we can build bridges, inspire one another, and become greater than the sum of our parts.

Be The Media

By contributing to West Dorset News, you can help create an independent space for local voices, grassroots projects, and community-driven storytelling. When we tell our own stories, we don’t just document change—we accelerate it.

If you're ready to be part of this movement, reach out to josef@uniteddiversity.coop—we’d love to collaborate and amplify your work!

Join West Dorset Commons

Our goal is to make the West Dorset bioregion a home to thriving people, in a thriving place, while respecting the wellbeing of all people and the health of the planet.

🚀 In other words, get the West Dorset bioregion into the Doughnut by making "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" a reality in our locality.

Want to help make it happen? Get involved:

🔹 Become a Member – Systematically pool resources for the systems change win!
🔹 Complete Our Survey – Let us know how you'd like to get involved.
🔹 Subscribe to Our Newsletter – Stay in the loop with zero Big Tech dependency.