About us
East Finchley’s Community Newspaper
The Archer is a totally independent non-political and non-religious community-run newspaper, based in East Finchley, London, England. It is delivered free every month to 10,000 households in and around London N2.
The paper is written, edited, designed, produced and delivered entirely by volunteer members of the community and published by East Finchley Newspapers CIC (Community Interest Company).
How it started
The Archer was founded in 1993, the result of an idle conversation between a group of unemployed men in the bar of Welch’s Ale House on East Finchley High Road. The initial concept was for something halfway between a parish newsletter and a local newspaper, with the emphasis on community involvement and ownership.
How it’s going
Thirty years on, we have a core staff of about 20 people, a further 20+ contributors, and a team of over 100 volunteer deliverers. Our writers range in age from 18 to 80, and come from all walks of life. Nobody on the team gets paid. We rely on advertising only to pay for printing and therefore keep our ad content to a minimum, taking up no more than 20% of the entire paper, which means that our advertising is extremely effective.