Venue (magazine)

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Venue is the what's on magazine for the Bristol and Bath areas of the UK.

It was founded in 1982 by journalists who had been working for another Bristol magazine, Out West, which had been consciously modelled on London's Time Out magazine.

Published fortnightly, Venue gained a reputation for the quality and authority of its coverage of the local arts and entertainments scene. It played a leading part in re-establishing Ashton Court Festival and, while under the editorship of John Mitchell in the late 1980s/early 1990s, it was an early champion of the Bristol Sound.

It also has a reputation for investigative reporting of local issues, including health, policing, local politics and environmental matters. Venue also features a lot of humour and satire which many find attractive, but which is occasionally criticised as puerile. It may be worth noting that stand-up comedian Mark Watson and comedy scriptwriter Stephen Merchant both worked for Venue when they were younger. Author Eugene Byrne, who was one of the magazine's founders is still involved with it as Consulting Editor.

In 2000 the company was sold to Bristol United Press (BUP), the company which runs the Bristol Evening Post and Western Daily Press newspapers. BUP in turn is owned by the Northcliffe Newspaper Group, part of the Daily Mail & General Trust group. The takeover by BUP was controversial with many readers, advertisers and staff, particularly because the political outlook of the Daily Mail is the opposite of the values proclaimed by Venue.

In 2001, Venue magazine started to publish weekly, though the effect of this move on its sales figures, which the company has always been secretive about, are unknown. According to The Bristolian, a local scandal-sheet produced by veteran anarchist Ian Bone and which is highly critical of BUP, Venue sells around 10,000 copies per week.

Venue Publishing has diversified in recent years. It produces a successful controlled circulation lifestyle monthly, Folio, as well as several annual guides including Eating Out West, Drinking Out West, Days Out West and a Festival Guide. It also undertakes contract publishing, particularly for large local events such as the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.

The Venue website is one of the longest-running commercial websites in the UK, originally set up in 1995. Though it does not currently include event listings it does publish several of the annual guides and includes a popular free personal advertisements section.

Venue is currently edited by Rebecca Dean.