Mule

MULE is a non-profit, Manchester-based independent media project. The newspaper had a quarterly print run of 10,000, distributed free around the city of Manchester until August 2010, and runs a regularly updated website. The paper is openly political and critical of local councils and politicians, big business and property developers, privatisation of public space, public bodies and Greater Manchester Police. MULE claims to be committed to social, economic and environmental justice and social change. MULE′s mission is to reach out to a wide-ranging cross-section of society, producing an accessible and tabloid style paper, which aims to address issues the mainstream local media neglect via investigative journalism. It focuses on a number of areas its members consider important, particularly local democracy, corporate power and big business in Manchester, local public bodies and quangos, property developers and regeneration, right-wing extremism and racism (particularly the British National Party and English Defence League), deportation and detention of migrants, community campaigns, and local cultural events. It has been critical of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition and has actively reported on local groups fighting the government's austerity drive and cuts to public services. MULE′s website also provides an online diary (which includes all of Manchester City Council's public meetings) for local groups to post events on. On the website the collective encourage new writers to get involved and for local people to send in their stories. Origins