Since 1866, the East London Advertiser has been there with you.

Right now we reach more of you in print and via digital than we ever have before.

But now more than ever before, our work to inform and entertain you is in danger - and we need your help to build a sustainable future for our title.

Over the years we’ll have made you think, made you smile, made you angry, made you proud of our region.

In 1905, we highlighted the extent of poverty in east London. An inquest, reported on in the paper, heard that the “slavery conditions” which led to baker Henry Sautter dying of “the effects of overwork” were “general throughout the East End”. Following the report, a trade union campaign was organised to end such conditions and to induce the “bake-house slaves” to join up and fight to reduce working hours.

The Advertiser covered the 10-year campaign for a memorial to the victims of the 1943 Bethnal Green Tube station disaster – in which 173 men, women and children were crushed to death – as well as its unveiling in 2017.

We covered the downfall of former mayor Lutfur Rahman and we highlighted the dangers of swimming in a disused dock which has seen a number of people drown during the summer months in the past few years. As well as carrying stories each summer encouraging people to find safer places to enjoy the warm weather, the Advertiser published a front page story on an inquest into the death of one of the drowning victims and the coroner’s plea for more to be done. The council has promised to look into the matter.

In 1994, a massive Semtex bomb packed into a truck is set off by the IRA at Canary Wharf’s South Quay, killing two people and injuring 54 more. In addition to covering the attack and its aftermath, speaking to victims and their relatives, to this day the Advertiser continues to report on the campaign by the Docklands Victims’ Association to get compensation payouts from the assets of Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi, who had supplied the IRA with the Semtex.

Today, with journalism already under pressure and coronavirus making finances even tighter, more and more communities are no longer represented by a local newspaper. Corruption goes unpunished. Bad decisions go unchecked. Fake news spreads uncorrected on social media.

To stop that happening in our region, we are inviting readers of our websites to give their financial support to our work. You can contribute any amount you like, as a one-off or a recurring contribution.

I believe that accurate, useful, honest, local journalism is vital to our future and I know you believe that too.

That’s why I hope you will help us. Every single gesture of support will keep us fighting for you and our borough.

Thank you

Lindsay Jones, Editor