Madrid No Frills is an independent media project exploring the issues and events that define Madrid today.
In 2016, I launched Madrid No Frills to fill a gap in local storytelling for Madrid’s English-speaking residents. Today, this is a bilingual hyper-local media platform with a following of over 50,000 and a team of regular contributors. MNF focuses on the underreported side of Madrid, particularly stories from underrepresented communities. Over the years, this platform has become a valuable source of news, information and knowledge for Madrid’s citizens, and remains editorially independent – one of MNF’s greatest strengths.
Madrid No Frills was founded by me, Leah Pattem, and is a space for madrileñes to investigate and share stories about our city that the mainstream media repeatedly refuse to prioritise.
We have a social media following of over 50,000 people, reach 25,000 online readers per month, and have never even paid for advertising. You can find MNF featured by the BBC and Al Jazeera, as well as Spanish publications El País, El Diario, Público, and more.
Follow MNF on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and subscribe to my newsletter here. If you’d like to support Madrid No Frills, you can become a Patron and help this project continue to grow.
FUNDING
Madrid No Frills is a not-for-profit media project. The platform is a labour of love for the city of Madrid, and minimally funded by members via Patreon. A further source of income comes from sales of photographs and my courses.
JOURNALISM STANDARDS AND ETHICS
Leah Pattem, the founder of MNF, is an accredited journalist registered with the Federación de Sindicatos de Periodistas (FeSP), whose Madrid branch, El Sindicato de Periodistas de Madrid (SPM), recognises Madrid No Frills as a trusted and informative platform.
Leah is a practising news, features, investigations and broadcast journalist for major media platforms – including El País, the Guardian, BBC and others – and is a journalism professor.
This media project is proud to practise ethical writing, photography and interviewing. We put the people telling the story at the centre of the story and minimise, as much as possible, any potential risk they may face in their collaboration with us.