The Bedford Independent was launched on social media on 13 August 2018 initially only publishing articles on Facebook.
[4] The publication is run by Paul Hutchinson, former Chiltern FM deputy news editor; Erica Roffe, founder of local arts and culture magazine the Bedford Clanger; and commercial director Julia Course-Crofts, who has worked for titles including Bedfordshire on Sunday, MK on Sunday, Affinity Magazine and The Bedford Clanger.
[9] In 2022 the Bedford Independent gave written evidence to the UK Government's Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee for their investigation into the sustainability of local journalism.
[10] As a result of this, they were invited to give oral evidence to the committee during a hearing at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture.
[11] The Bedford Independent's evidence both written and oral was then used by the DCMS Committee to write their report into the sustainability of local journalism and make various recommendations to the UK Government.