By Sheena McStravick
Copyright belfastlive
Who cares about your rate bills increases and whether your bins are being regularly emptied? Who cares about the state of the roads, or whether our elected Stormont representatives are being held to account? Who cares about school dinners, the cost of living , community cohesion, or community tensions? Or what’s happening in the Irish League or GAA? The answer to all of the above, and more, is, of course, Belfast Live. For all of the changes our society has faced over recent years in terms of politics, leadership, and how information is shared, Belfast Live has been there with you. We cover the stories that matter where people live and seek factual and verified information to inform, educate, and entertain our readers and online audiences. Our journalists have broken stories like former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson being charged with child sex offences and the harrowing ordeal of a seriously ill man duped by a fake kidney donor. We’ve lifted the lid on topics like Northern Ireland’s growing epidemic of violence against women and girls . We have also celebrated our communities with coverage of events like the Belfast City Marathon and Belfast Pride , and held power to account by publishing stories like our investigation into why the Executive would not release their evidence supporting the puberty blocker ban. None of this is easy. To do this, we have to be relevant, flexible, and take risks. We don’t always get it right. But when the platforms that our audiences choose to use for news and information change, we have to be there to meet that demand. When our audience expects new updates and fresh information on a story as it unfolds, we have to meet that need. In times of strife or celebration, we are proud that our readers look to Belfast Live as a trusted source of verified information and news. You might wonder why we are telling you this today. Or, indeed, why you should care. Sunday, September 28 is World News Day , when news providers join forces to raise the importance and value of trusted, fact-based journalism. Belfast Live is joined by sister titles in the UK, Ireland, and the USA, including the Mirror, the Express, the Manchester Evening News, the Daily Record, the Liverpool Echo and Birmingham Mail, Wales Online, the Irish Mirror, and the Irish Star, to name a few, to collectively shine a light on the value of our journalists and our journalism in a world when it can sometimes be difficult to know who to trust. You might wonder why any of this matters. But in 2025, journalism in the UK has never been more threatened and, simultaneously, access to factual, reliable information has never been more important. It has never been a more deadly time to be a journalist. Globally, there have been 48 journalists killed in 2025 alone . There are more than 70 journalists missing worldwide, and more than 350 journalists are behind bars because of the work they do. In many of these known cases, the journalists have been covering stories which would otherwise go untold. In the UK, journalists are increasingly targeted with threats and acts of violence for simply doing their jobs. They are increasingly the victims of stalking and harassment and even being spied on by police. At Reach alone, online threats of violence or attempts to discredit or intimidate our journalists have more than doubled year on year. Add to that the fact that journalism courses are having their government funding cut , plus the challenges to accessing reliable information brought about by social media platforms and big tech , and journalism is in a perilous position. And this is important. Because if these attempts to silence journalists were successful, we would find ourselves in a world where verified, fact-checked, and trusted information was so severely depleted, it would be entirely swamped by opinion, conjecture and unreliable information dressed as fact. You would no longer have that steady spotlight being shone on all the ‘small stuff’ that matters to you, your family, your neighbours and friends. Our councils, governments and institutions would not be scrutinised or held to account. The chance for journalism to campaign, make change or to improve our communities would be gone. And the big stuff? Without verified news and journalism, how would you know what to trust or what to believe? In a world which is better connected by online technology and in which we have been brought closer than ever before to our global neighbours and events, we now have to come together to recognise the value of trusted journalism and preserve the integrity of the information being shared. On this World News Day, join Belfast Live in raising and recognising the value of journalism and trusted news. Choose Truth. Choose Facts. Choose Journalism.
