Where do you get your "Bristol News" from?

There have been recent changes at "Bristol Live" which impacts how local people access the stories on Bristol Live, so I thought it would be a good time to look at our local "newspapers".

I have analysed the 400 news stories published since 1st May 2026 in Bristol Live, Bristol 24/7 and The Bristol Cable.

Bristol Live publish 76.5% of stories (306 of 400) , but it is more difficult to get online access to their stories, and only 56% of their stories actually relate to Bristol.

If you strip out the Bristol Live "Premium" stories and the stories that are not related to Bristol, the picture is different.

Bristol Live now has 61% (149 of 243) of the stories.

Bristol Live - Premium Articles

Bristol Live have recently started publishing "Premium" stories on their site.

A Premium Subscription costs £4.99 a month (£1 for first month) and provides:

Access to exclusive subscriber-only journalism and all our newsroom’s brilliant content across website and app
Exclusive commentary, news and expert analysis on Bristol City, Rovers and Bears
A new ad-lite subscription service offering unlimited access to BristolLive and our app, as well as a cleaner viewing experience with far fewer ads

Does anyone know what Tristan Cork actually looks like?

His profile picture is "George Loveless", a Tolpuddle Martyr who "was articulate and wrote eloquently".

Tristan has been the author of most Premium articles so far in May 2026.

Premium Bristol Live Articles

As well as not being able to read Premium stories, readers without a Premium subscription can only read 10 "free" stories a month.

This means that Bristol Live has become a less valuable source of news unless you pay for a subscription. People will be clicking on social media links and then being annoyed at not being able to actually read the story.

It is quite easy to get around the "10 free articles a month" restriction.

You can still read an electronic version of the "Bristol Post" for free. This article explains how.

It is also possible to view Premium articles content without a subscription.

Commenting on news articles

Bristol Live only allow comments on 62% of their stories
Bristol 24/7 allow comments on 96% of their stories
The Bristol Cable allow comments on 100% of their stories, but they have only published 3 stories so far in May

Most comments appear on Bristol Live stories.

Authors

Tristan Cork and Martin Booth have been the most prolific authors so far in May.

Alex Seabrook and Adam Postans write articles for Bristol Live and Bristol 24/7. They are both part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service and are partially funded by BBC Licence payers.

What about the Bristol Cable?

The Bristol Cable has only published 3 stories so far in May.

The Bristol Cable publish approximately 40 articles a year, and the articles are typically more in-depth than articles in Bristol Live and Bristol 24/7.

The topics they cover tend to be narrower than the mainstream publications.

Where else can you get local news stories and articles?

If you want to look a bit further for local news and commentary then there are quite a few people who independently publish articles about Bristol.

John Langley aka "The Almighty Gob" deserves special mention for the number of thoughtful and provocative articles he publishes on a regular basis.

You can find out more about these local news sources by exploring the "All Bristol News" report on BU Reports.

Summary

Only time will tell how the new Bristol Live subscription model will impact readership and if it will push more people to Bristol 24/7.

You could try the Bristol Live subscription and the Bristol 24/7 membership option if you want to read stories without loads of adverts.

You should also check out the Bristolians who generate their own news stories and articles as you will find material that you won't see in the "mainstream" press.