Bella Caledonia facts for kids
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| Editor | Mike Small |
|---|---|
| Categories | Politics |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Country | Scotland |
| Language | English |
Bella Caledonia is an online magazine. It shares ideas about society, politics, and culture. It started in 2007. It became very well known during the discussions about the Scottish independence referendum in 2014. The website does not belong to any political party. Until 2017, it also had a printed magazine. This magazine was a special part of The National newspaper once a month.
Contents
History of Bella Caledonia
How it Started
In October 2007, two writers named Mike Small and Kevin Williamson launched Bella Caledonia. They started it at a book fair in Edinburgh. The website shared strong opinions about politics. It also explored ideas about self-determination, which means a group of people deciding their own future.
The magazine was named after a character from a book called Poor Things by Alasdair Gray. Alasdair Gray later drew new artwork for the website.
Becoming More Popular
By 2011, more people started to notice the magazine. The List magazine even called it one of the best Scottish websites. During the debates about the Scottish independence referendum, Bella Caledonia published many articles. These articles supported the Yes Scotland campaign.
By 2014, about 40,000 people read the website every day. As the referendum got closer, people from other countries also became interested. In August 2014, over 500,000 different people visited the site each month. At its busiest, it reached one million visitors. In September 2014, an event called "Songs for Scotland" was held in Glasgow. They also released an album of music that people could download.
New Ways of Working
In 2015, a company called Cision listed Bella Caledonia as one of the top 10 political blogs in the UK. Around this time, the website started to change how it worked. It moved away from being mostly "citizen journalism," where anyone could write. Instead, it began to work more with professional freelance writers. It also started to team up with other journalists.
In 2015, Bella Caledonia began to publish articles in Gaelic and Scots languages.
In January 2017, the website announced it might have to close. This was because of the costs of running it. They asked for help to raise money. A few days later, the magazine's board decided to keep publishing. They planned to change how the company was set up. It would become a media collective, meaning many people would work together.
In March 2017, Bella Caledonia started making a special 24-page section for The National newspaper. This section appeared on the first Saturday of every month.
See also
In Spanish: Bella Caledonia para niños
