We may be small, but our mission is mighty: to

Strengthen newsrooms and their relationships with readers everywhere.

A black-and-white photo of the Contribly team standing indoors near large windows with city buildings in the background, smiling at the camera.

Our tool was not made for marketing teams, it was made with journalists, for journalists. 

The vision

Contribly was born at The Guardian and although our concept of audience engagement has very much evolved since then, our belief in inviting audiences to contribute and be involved in the story - whatever that story may be - remains true.

We believe in building a future where news publishers and audiences are more connected, informed, and empowered.

A black-and-white photo of Linda, Co-founder of Contribly. She has shoulder-length hair, she is smiling and wearing a light-colored, ribbed sweater, sitting in an office setting.

Linda Broughton
Co-founder & CTO

The challenge

Many editorial teams want to engage with readers, but the sheer volume of reader-generated content is a challenge. If we approach gathering content manually, via emails or simple web forms, we quickly realise content is scattered across different platforms, in so many varying formats, difficult to manage, and time-consuming to verify and publish at scale… Journalists already have so much work as it is.

We realised that to truly empower newsrooms to harness the power of their community and work differently (not more), we need a dedicated tool. Which is where Contribly comes in. 

A black-and-white photo of Francesca, Co-founder of Contribly smiling. She has long wavy hair, wearing glasses, and a striped sweater, standing against a plain background.

Francesca Dumas
Co-founder and Director of Audience Development

The solution

Contribly allows journalists to easily engage with their community: issue call-outs on their pages, collect diverse content in one organised hub, and verify it efficiently to newsroom-level standards. Crucially, it enables journalists to publish this content instantly, allowing them to involve their audiences at the very heart of their articles, not just as an afterthought. Readers, on the other hand, feel heard, seen and build loyalty to the news brands that engage them best.

A black-and-white photo of a Ed and Mackenzie smiling indoors near a window with an urban cityscape in the background.

Ed Robinson
Lead Developer

Mackenzie Hill
Head of Marketing

Contribly is more than just a technical solution; it’s about a newsroom culture change. 

And we are more than just newsroom software, we're a dedicated partner in helping your news brand thrive. We leverage the knowledge from our research and the 100s of examples of smart ways newsrooms have used our tool over the years, so that we can all do more engagement, better.

It isn’t that young people don’t read news, it is that they don’t see themselves reflected in it (see Niemen Lab’s article).

Our mission

We are on a mission to help newsrooms engage with their communities in a more valuable, exciting and productive way. We believe that news/media should empower people to take action and participate in shaping their communities; whether that's through contributing to debates, sharing local insights, or just participating in fun, community-focused initiatives.


News brands are not social media, nor should they be. 

Newsrooms have an opportunity to provide a safe, constructive space for the public to engage and make an impact. In a world where the most extreme voices are the only ones heard most often, let’s create those safe spaces together. 


Free Download:

The Ultimate Engagement Starter Guide

Struggling to engage readers at scale, stay relevant, or build trust in your brand? 
This guide will help you outline the steps you can take in order to efficiently increase CGC Engagement, signed-in users and subscriptions.