Byline Times

Byline Times
EditorHardeep Matharu
Staff writersAdam Bienkov
Josiah Mortimer
CategoriesPolitics, current affairs, social affairs,
FrequencyMonthly
FounderPeter Jukes
Stephen Colegrave
Founded2019
CountryUnited Kingdom
Based inLondon
LanguageEnglish
Websitebylinetimes.com
ISSN2632-7910

Byline Times is a British liberal[1] alternative media website and newspaper launched in 2019 by Peter Jukes and Stephen Colegrave, who are also its executive editors.[2] It received its momentum from the Hacked Off campaign started by the Media Standards Trust, which led to the Leveson Inquiry, and builds on the controversial work of ex-phone hackers Dan Evans and Graham Johnson that provoked a series of celebrity lawsuits against the tabloid press.

Background

Byline Investigates

In 2014, two former News of the World reporters convicted for phone hacking in the aftermath of the News International scandal, Graham Johnson and Dan Evans, were approached during their respective trials by Evan Harris,[3] the associate director of Hacked Off and a veteran campaigner for the group.[4][5] Johnson held discussions with Harris and Max Mosley, receiving an offer of collaboration in the press reform movement spearheaded by Mosley (a major sponsor of Hacked Off and the independent press regulator IMPRESS[6][7][8]) and Hugh Grant (the founder of Hacked Off as a separate entity in 2012[9]).[3] Johnson and Evans proceeded to set up a crowdfunded "guerrilla journalism" website called Byline Investigates that supplied material to lawyers pursuing allegations of press intrusion against tabloid newspapers.[3] Johnson was reported to have offered cash and other incentives around 2016 to ex-journalists in exchange for testimonies and documents on alleged malpractice in media conglomerates, triggering lawsuits against the tabloid press from Elizabeth Hurley, Elton John and Prince Harry, among others.[10] Byline Investigates became regulated by IMPRESS in September 2016.[11] In June 2020, Johnson's domestic partner Emma Jones joined the board of Hacked Off.[12][3] Byline Investigates Holdings was incorporated as a Greenwich-based limited company by Johnson and Evans in July 2021,[13] and converted to a community interest company in January 2023.[14] As of 2023, Byline Investigates was run by Johnson as a sister website of Byline Times.[10][1]

Byline Media and Byline.com

After jointly registering the Greater Manchester-based company Byline Media Ltd in October 2014,[15] the British entrepreneur Daniel Tudor and his South Korean colleague and fellow University of Oxford alumnus Lee Seung-yoon launched the crowdfunded media platform Byline.com that allowed "campaigning journalists" to make direct appeals to readers in April 2015.[16][17] In May 2015, Byline.com ran a controversial interview with Graham Johnson.[18] By July 2015, it had 300,000 monthly visitors, and raised $850,000 in seed funding led by Lee Seung-yoon's mentors, Kakao Corporation's founder Lee Jae-woong and Berggruen Institute's chairman Nicolas Berggruen, as well as Guancha founder Eric X. Li and the investor Ian Osborne.[19][20][21] Its writers included Julie Bindel, Beatrix Campbell, Norman Finkelstein, John Mitchinson, Benny Morris, Rowan Pelling and Abby Tomlinson of Milifandom, while the board of advisers was made up by the former editor-in-chief of The Economist Bill Emmott, the former editor-in-chief of The Sunday Times Harold Evans, and the playwright Peter Jukes who had joined as a columnist.[19][18][22][21]

Peter Jukes and the Saatchi & Saatchi marketing executive Stephen Colegrave took over the Byline.com website in 2016.[17][1][23] In April 2016, Jukes registered a new Barnet-based company under the name Byline Media Holdings Ltd,[24] in which Max Mosley took up shares by April 2017[25][26] (he retained them until his death[27]). In June 2017, Jukes and Colegrave inaugurated the Byline Festival at the former military ground in Pippingford Park in East Sussex as a "parallel revenue stream" for the website;[17] the event also received support from Mosley.[28] In December 2017, Graham Johnson was appointed a director of Byline Media Holdings.[29] As of May 2019, the website had a monthly audience of 150,000 and hosted the investigations of Graham Johnson and Dan Evans into the "dark practices highlighted at the Leveson inquiry".[17]

Byline Times

In November 2018, Peter Jukes and Stephen Colegrave registered Byline Times Ltd as a Birmingham-based company, with 51% shares held by LC Nominees Ltd, a firm headquartered in the same city.[30] In February 2019, Byline Times moved to the same Southwark address from which Byline Investigates has operated since at least 2021.[31][32] The print newspaper Byline Times was then launched in the summer of 2019, with an initial subscriber base of almost 1,000.[17] By November 2021, Byline Times had separated from Byline Investigates and Byline.com.[26]

Operations

The Byline Times newspaper is published monthly for subscribers, with three-quarters of the material restricted to print,[33] while BylineTimes.com functions as a free news site. Byline Times's sister organisations are the former crowdfunding journalism platform Byline.com, investigative unit Byline Investigates, the Byline Times Podcast, Byline Books and the annual summer event Byline Festival. All are separate entities.[34]

Byline Times is also published by Bywire News, an "independent blockchain news network", whose other partners include The Canary, Labour Buzz, Not the News, Business Wales, Our.London, and Media Reform Coalition (MRC)[35] which, according to Bywire, means "each article contains a record on the blockchain detailing when it was created, by whom, and any revisions which are made and when".[36] In 2020, Byline Media collaborated with George Llewelyn and Caolan Robertson to create Byline TV, a subscriber-funded video channel.[37]

Recent expansions of the outlet include the 2022 launch of Byline Supplement, the outlet's additional Substack newsletter,[38] and Byline Audio, set up in 2024 to bring together the outlet's podcasts.[39]

As of July 2023, Byline Times had 29,000 paying subscribers, of which 15,000 to the print version, and a revenue of approximately £1m.[1]

In March 2025, it became regulated by the UK's official press regulator IMPRESS.[40]

Staff

The editor of Byline Times is Hardeep Matharu.[41] Other writers and staff include its Special Investigations Reporter Nafeez Ahmed, former Spectator political columnist Peter Oborne, former BBC journalist Adrian Goldberg who hosts the Byline Times Podcast,[2][34] former BBC Panorama reporter John Sweeney[42], Kingston University's professor of journalism Brian Cathcart,[43] investigative journalist Iain Overton,[44] Compass director Neal Lawson,[45] and author Otto English. The paper has also had contributions from others, including the actor and comedian John Cleese.[46]

As of August 2024, Byline Times' full-time reporting team included Political Editor Adam Bienkov, and Chief Reporter Josiah Mortimer.[47] The title employed 12 permanent staff members, had 30 writers on monthly retainer and 500 freelancers to call upon,[33] which represented an increase from 5 permanent staffers and 15 regular columnists in July 2023.[1]

Purpose

Interviewed in 2019, Matharu described the purpose of Byline Times as to "really dig down and investigate [...] pressing social issues, many of them to do with justice, or a lack of, which for one reason or another are not being widely or extensively reported on elsewhere." Jukes described the newspaper as providing "what the [other] papers don't say" and said it would be similar in tone to the broadsheet news magazine FT Weekend.[48]

Peter Jukes told Press Gazette in 2023 that the outlet was "not politically aligned" and "not ideological", while professing a belief in liberal democracy, transparency and tackling corruption.[1]

Reception

Byline Times was showcased at the 2019 Trust in Journalism Conference, organised by IMPRESS.[49] In February 2024, it was described by NewsNow Publishing in a testimony made to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee as a "successful example of non-local reader-funded 'alternative' news media outlet", alongside Double Down News and Declassified UK.[50]

Mike Berners-Lee judged Byline Times to have "a very credible set of journalists" and stated that he "couldn't think of an example of it having been factually wrong", although he expressed a wish for its sources to be cited more frequently. He described it as a "counter-balance to the billionaire-dominated British press".[51]

Significant stories

Stories broken by Byline Times have been picked up by other media outlets. These include allegations of cronyism in the Johnson government's allocation of contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.[41][52] In July 2023, Byline Times broke allegations of sexual impropriety by the journalist Dan Wootton,[53] based on the investigations of former News of the World journalists Dan Evans and Tom Latchem.[1] Wootton denied the allegations and sought to crowdfund legal fees for a case against the paper. Byline Times subsequently said its journalists had been targeted with threats and intimidation, without suggesting Wootton was involved.[54][55] In February 2024 the Metropolitan Police announced they would be taking no further action in respect of the matter.[56]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Ponsford, Dominic (27 July 2023). "'We're not ideological' says Byline Times as it continues Dan Wootton investigation". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b "About". Byline Times. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Lamont, Tom (9 May 2023). "Prince Harry vs the press". Prospect. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023.
  4. ^ Ramiro, Joana (24 July 2014). "News of the World phone-hacker Dan Evans given community service". Morning Star. Archived from the original on 20 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Revised transcript of evidence taken before the Select Committee on Communications: Inquiry on Press Regulation – where are we now? Evidence Session No. 3, Heard in Public, Questions 42–67", House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee, 27 January 2015, archived from the original on 20 August 2025
  6. ^ Quinn, Ben (24 May 2021). "'He lit the blue touch paper': Max Mosley's legacy as a campaigner for a more ethical press". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021.
  7. ^ Crook, Tim (3 November 2016). "Why the latest body of UK press regulation is less than impressive". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016.
  8. ^ Greenslade, Roy (11 March 2018). "I once sympathised with Max Mosley, but he's really lost me now". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018.
  9. ^ "The Hacked Off Campaign Limited (Company number 08176670): Filing history: Incorporation". Companies House. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  10. ^ a b Lazarus, Ben (1 July 2023). "The 'professional liar' at the heart of Prince Harry's hacking claim". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Byline Investigates". IMPRESS. Archived from the original on 20 August 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  12. ^ "The Hacked Off Campaign Limited (Company number 08176670): People". Companies House. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Byline Investigates Holdings CIC (Company number 13488452): Filing history: Incorporation". Companies House. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Byline Investigates Holdings CIC (Company number 13488452): Filing history: Company name changed Byline Investigates Holdings Limited: certificate issued on 09/01/23". Companies House. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  15. ^ "Byline Media Limited (Company number 09277212): Filing history: Incorporation". Companies House. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  16. ^ Ciobanu, Mădălina (9 July 2015). "Byline sees a new wave in crowdfunded journalism". Journalism.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  17. ^ a b c d e Burrell, Ian (9 May 2019). "Byline pivots to print, promising to tell readers 'what the papers don't say'". The Drum. Archived from the original on 26 July 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  18. ^ a b Ponsford, Dominic. "UK-based website Byline claims to be most popular journalism crowdfunding platform". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 20 August 2025.
  19. ^ a b Lomas, Natasha (21 July 2015). "Byline Wants To Crowdfund Media Pluralism". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015.
  20. ^ Chun, Su-Jin (13 May 2021). "Radish founder Lee Seung-yoon plays first and earns later". Archived from the original on 12 May 2021.
  21. ^ a b "About us". Byline.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017.
  22. ^ "Our Team". . Archived from the original on 17 July 2015.
  23. ^ Gilligan, Andrew (16 April 2016). "The truth about John Whittingdale, the prostitute and the 'cover-up'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 March 2025.
  24. ^ "Byline Media Holdings Ltd (Company number 10143080): Incorporation". Companies House. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  25. ^ "Byline Media Holdings Ltd (Company number 10143080): Filing history: Confirmation statement made on 21 April 2017 with updates". Companies House. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  26. ^ a b Rajan, Amol (22 November 2021). "Prince Harry's legal battle with the media". BBC. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021.
  27. ^ "Byline Media Holdings Ltd (Company number 10143080): Filing history: Confirmation statement made on 21 April 2022 with updates". Companies House. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  28. ^ Cathcart, Brian (25 May 2021). "Saving Lives – Max Mosley: 13 April 1940 – 23 May 2021". Byline Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Byline Media Holdings Ltd (Company number 10143080): Filing history". Companies House. Archived from the original on 20 August 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  30. ^ "Byline Times Ltd (Company number 11658725): Incorporation". Companies House. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  31. ^ "Byline Times Ltd (Company number 11658725): Filing history". Companies House. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  32. ^ "About us". Byline Investigates. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  33. ^ a b Benjamin, Jack (31 July 2024). "Byline Times sees value in print — and the US". The Media Leader. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024.
  34. ^ a b Magrath, Paul (11 April 2019). "Byline Times: a new approach to journalism?". The Transparency Project. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Daily News". Bywire News. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  36. ^ "How it works". Bywire News. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  37. ^ Mortimer, Josiah (23 September 2020). "Interview: 'Fearless' rival launched to counter Murdoch-backed TV station". Left Foot Forward. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  38. ^ "Byline Supplement: Substack". www.bylinesupplement.com. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  39. ^ "Byline Audio". bylineaudio.com. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  40. ^ "Byline Times". IMPRESS. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  41. ^ a b Clarke-Ezzidio, Harry (29 October 2021). "In the post-Corbyn world, what next for alternative left media?". New Statesman. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  42. ^ "John Sweeney". Byline Times. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  43. ^ Cathcart, Brian (21 April 2020). "Written evidence (FOJ0060)". House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee inquiry "The future of journalism". Archived from the original on 23 May 2020.
  44. ^ Overton, Iain (17 June 2025). "Investigating War Crimes: Arms Trade". Global Investigative Journalism Network. Archived from the original on 17 June 2025.
  45. ^ "Author: Neal Lawson". Byline Times. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  46. ^ Cleese, John (2 April 2019). "'Ramblin' Donald: Why 7,000 Republicans Could Never be Wrong". Byline Times. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  47. ^ "About". Byline Times. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  48. ^ Tobitt, Charlotte (22 March 2019). "Byline team to rebrand and launch print title for subscribers in telling stories others 'have ignored'". Press Gazette. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  49. ^ "Trust in Journalism Conference 2019", IMPRESS Annual Report 2019–20 (PDF), London: IMPRESS, October 2020, p. 15
  50. ^ "NewsNow Publishing—written evidence (FON0051)", House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee inquiry "The future of news: impartiality, trust, and technology", p. 8, February 2024
  51. ^ Berners-Lee, Mike (2025), A Climate of Truth: Why We Need It and How To Get It, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 186–187, doi:10.1017/9781009440073.009, ISBN 978-1-009-44006-6
  52. ^ Davies, William; Dutta, Sahil Jai; Taylor, Nick; Tazzioli, Martina (19 April 2022). Unprecedented?: How COVID-19 Revealed the Politics of Our Economy. MIT Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-913380-11-3.
  53. ^ Waterson, Jim (25 July 2023). "Sun stands by Huw Edwards story and is investigating Dan Wootton, MPs hear". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  54. ^ Tobitt, Charlotte (24 July 2023). "Dan Wootton appeals for cash to sue Byline Times as site launches own crowdfunder". Press Gazette. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  55. ^ Frost, Caroline (22 July 2023). "UK Presenter Seeks Crowdfunding Cash To Fight Allegations Of 'Bribery For Explicit Images'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  56. ^ "Dan Wootton: Metropolitan Police taking no further action against broadcaster". BBC News. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
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