Government backs local journalism with £6 million funding while careers campaign reaches thousands of youngsters
50 local news providers awarded grants of up to £125,000 to support long-term sustainability and growth this Journalism Matters Week
- The ‘Inspiring the Future’ campaign, which encourages children to consider careers in journalism, has reached more than 11,000 students and engaged with more than 100 schools
- This all forms part of the Government’s Local Media Action Plan, backing the vital role of local media in communities across the country
Fifty organisations are set to benefit from the government’s £6 million Local News Fund, helping to ensure people can continue to benefit from trusted, high-quality local journalism.
With audiences moving online and consuming their news through an increasingly diverse range of sources, the role of local journalism has never been more important, especially as the Government seeks to devolve power to a local level , given its integral role in holding power to account and tackling mis- and disinformation online.
Central to the Government’s ‘Amplify: The Local Media Action Plan’, the Local News Fund aims to strengthen communities and social cohesion, rebuild social trust, and support local growth by supporting local journalism.
The majority of funding has been awarded to local print and online news outlets and independent local TV and radio stations, who received grants of up to £125,000. The money will be used to invest in community outreach projects, digital tools, apps and new multimedia services that can help these organisations reach new and younger audiences while developing more sustainable sources of income. These grants have been evenly distributed across England and Wales, providing funding support for local journalism in every region.
The remainder of the Fund has been awarded to seven organisations, including software developers and major industry players, to develop infrastructure that can benefit the sector as a whole, with grants of up to £275,000 awarded.
Media Minister Ian Murray said:
For decades our local media has remained among the most trusted sources of news. But as the media landscape has become more complex, many outlets have been forced to reduce their numbers or even close. I am determined not to leave local journalism to collapse. This government knows it is critical to communities and fosters a self-confident nation that everyone feels part of.
Through the Local News Fund we are taking action to help newsrooms innovate and adapt their business models for the online world, while incentivising and encouraging the production of high-quality, trustworthy news that Britain’s towns and villages deserve and rely on.
Another key measure in the Local Media Action Plan is the ‘Inspiring the Future’ careers campaign, joint-funded by the News Media Association (NMA), which connects local media employers and journalists with schools to inspire the next generation of reporters. This initial six-month campaign focused on the North West, targeting schools in more deprived areas, with 79% having above national average free school meal eligibility, and the Government will seek to roll it out nationally subject to evaluation and funding.
Theo Bamber, Chief Executive, News Media Association, said:
Alongside DCMS and Education and Employers, we are very pleased to have supported the ‘Inspiring the Future’ pilot connecting local media professionals with the next generation of talent.
As power is devolved out of Westminster, the role of local news media holding power to account will become even more important. This initiative will support that by helping young people understand our industry, the benefits of a career in local media, and the vital role it plays in local communities across the country.
This Journalism Matters Week, an annual campaign run by the NMA that showcases the industry as a key part of the UK’s national infrastructure, the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists will meet to agree on a refreshed National Action Plan, reaffirming this Government’s commitment to journalist safety and tackling obstacles to news gathering which is another pillar of the Local Media Action Plan. Bringing together representatives from government, journalism, policing, prosecution services and civil society, the aim of the National Action Plan is to set out how the safety of journalists can be protected in the UK.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Quotes in support of the Local News Fund:
Polly Curtis, Co-Chair of the Local News Fund Steering Board, said:
This fund showed there is incredible talent and capacity across the country to revitalise local news when communities are so desperately in need of trusted sources of information. The solutions are out there and this fund could go even further in the future to help journalists across communities to become ever more sustainable.
We want to thank everyone who applied and encourage applications to the next round in 2027. There are too many news deserts in this country and this fund is starting to make a difference.
Jeremy Clifford, Co-Chair of the Local News Fund Steering Board, said:
We were delighted with the volume of bids that came in from publishers and tech developers for the local news fund which underlined the critical importance of this initiative in helping the industry to design and implement changes that will support sustainability. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to submit their ideas.
However, the volume and quality of the bids presented a major headache for the Steering Board - how to make the limited funding reach as far as possible. I am confident the awards made by the DCMS will go a long way in helping to shape the future for so many publishers. My personal hope is that we will see a lot of collaboration and sharing of knowledge to benefit the wider news industry.
Unfortunately, given the limited funds, it also meant we had to turn down many worthwhile and quality bids. I would urge the DCMS to source more funding in 2027 so those publishers who did submit bids can reapply and re-enter their plans - so many of which merit funding.
Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said:
The NUJ warmly welcomes the government taking active steps to support local journalism. The union has long campaigned for government grants to preserve the sector so it is positive to see funding for a range of outlets to support jobs, greater local coverage and public interest journalism. We note that other projects focus on ‘responsible’ uses of AI in newsrooms, and the union will monitor the use and impact of these grants in consultation with members.
While we’re excited to see what difference the funding makes, many of our members remain deeply worried about their livelihoods and the state of the industry. The level of interest in the Fund demonstrates just how much the sector has been crying out for support. We hope to see further government investment to really turn the tide.
Joanne Forbes, NCTJ chief executive, said:
Local journalism matters enormously. It holds power to account and tells stories that would otherwise go untold. AI could make a real difference to newsrooms already struggling with limited resources, but we must protect the quality and trust that good journalism depends on.
We’re grateful to DCMS and the Local News Fund steering board for backing this project. It will bring publishers and journalists together to develop practical guidance and training to help newsrooms make the most of AI, from the biggest to the smallest.
More information on the winning projects:
| Company Name | Region | Media Type | Summary of project | Grant value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bylines Networks Limited (publisher of nine local titles including Yorkshire Bylines, Bylines Cymru and North East Bylines) | South East, South West, East of England, East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire and The Humber, North West, North East, Wales | Online Only | Citizen-powered local news sustainability programme, delivered across nine publications. The project will turn the network’s reach and participation into stronger reader relationships, deeper community connections, sustainable recurring income, and more resilient local titles. | £116,335 |
| Citizen News and Media Limited (publisher of the Hackney Citizen) | Greater London | Print and digital news | AI driven investigations platform, a companion platform for data journalism and a reader revenue mechanism. | £89,667 |
| SOAR SOUND CIC | East Midlands | Radio | Leicester Local News Innovation Lab, a collaborative project helping community media organisations produce more trusted, relevant and accessible local news. | £85,000 |
| The Millers Publishing Company Limited (publisher of seven local titles including the Manchester Mill and Sheffield Tribune) | Greater London, West Midlands, Yorkshire and The Humber, North West | Online Only | A Reader Data & Engagement Platform which will give Mill Media’s seven local news titles, including the Manchester Mill and the Liverpool Post, better tools to interact with subscribers and promote their journalism to new readers. | £125,000 |
| Bullivant Media Group Limited (publisher of local news titles across Worcestershire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands) | West Midlands | Print and digital news | Local News Technology and Commercial Transformation Project to implement advanced advertising and editorial tech solutions. | £125,000 |
| Social Streets C.I.C. (publisher of Tower Hamlets Slice) | Greater London | Print and digital news | Audience Commons: a three-part framework combining reader registration software, targeted campaigns converting readers into paying members, and a playbook of best practice. | £71,900 |
| Stand Up For Southport | North West | Online Only | Expansion from a one-person operation working unsustainable hours into a small, properly resourced local news operation. | £122,800 |
| Leicester Gazette Limited | East Midlands | Print and digital news | A new membership proposition and the infrastructure needed to convert and retain members, involving website redesign, developing membership management systems and newsletter and expanding operations for membership signup. | £81,999 |
| Living North Ltd | Yorkshire and The Humber, North West, North East | Print and digital news | Introducing a Digital Transformation Programme by recruiting a Head of Digital Growth, Digital Sales Lead and an Audience and Newsletter Manager, as well as funding core technology to improve digital services and subscription rates. | £99,107 |
| Wrexham Dotcom Limited | Wales | Online Only | Developing an AI tool which monitors public sources and alerts journalists to potential stories. | £34,436 |
| Island Echo Ltd. | South East | Online Only | Newsroom transformation project that will enable Island Echo to produce more original public interest journalism for the Isle of Wight by improving the efficiency of editorial workflows. | £80,000 |
| Aidem Digital CIC (publisher of DESIblitz) | West Midlands | Online Only | Improving reporting processes, increasing audience reach and developing new approaches to sustainable local news delivery - expanding local journalism output, developing SEO capability to adapt to audiences’ changing discovery behaviours, strengthening analytics and direct audience relationships, including through newsletters, developing and testing new commercial products and partnerships for local businesses and organisations. | £122,887 |
| Rutland and Stamford Sound Community Interest Company | East Midlands | Radio | Extending news services beyond live radio, building resources and digital skills to reach audiences through other channels. | £17,711 |
| Modern Standard Media Ltd (publisher of Putney.news, BAttersea.news and Tooting.news) | Greater London | Online Only | Developing hyperlocal updates on planning, licensing, roadworks and statutory notices, resolved to polling-district level and available nowhere else. Development of a paid membership tier. Expansion of ad sales operations. Launch of a print edition. | £108,685 |
| Progress Publishing (publisher of the Bedford independent) | East of England | Online Only | Modernising the Bedford Independent’s digital newsletter platform to grow local readership and establish a self-sustaining financial model for public-interest reporting. | £10,000 |
| That’s TV Channels Limited (local TV services across the UK) | South East, South West, East of England, Yorkshire and The Humber, North West, Wales | TV | This project will deliver a single multi-platform video portal giving all 16 services owned by That’s TV local video news on-demand distribution across Freeview and Freely, other Smart TV apps, mobile apps and web. | £109,200 |
| PRO IT LABS LIMITED T/A Get Radio*(Oxfordshire based radio station) | South East | Radio | Building a new, independent Oxfordshire local news service, with a locally based journalist and team focused on building the service and its commercial future. | £125,000 |
| THE LEAD NEWSPAPERS LTD (titles across Altrincham, Blackpool, Bolton, Hyndburn, Stoke on Trent, Teeside and Warrington) | West Midlands, Yorkshire and The Humber, North West, North East, Wales | Print and digital news | Building audience and subscriber base by hiring a distribution editor, running live events, producing pop up print editions and hiring a visual storytelling editor. | £102,648 |
| Exe Communicate Limited (published of Devoncast radio) | South West | Radio | Launching a sister station to Devoncast Radio in which local news is presently intertwined among a mix of other content. This will be a dedicated always-available broadcast news channel, alongside a greater focus on digital content. | £89,269 |
| Moose Partnership Limited Company (publisher of Punchline Gloucester) | South West | Print and digital news | Subscriber/membership platform, backed by audience research, CRM and analytics tools, and a dedicated acquisition campaign. | £125,000 |
| The Havering Daily Ltd | Greater London, South East | Online Only | Launching a bespoke audience and revenue growth platform that brings together five existing minimum viable products already developed by the organisation. | £57,000 |
| The Stray Ferret Ltd (covers the Harrogate district) | Yorkshire and the Humber | Online Only | Building a self-service system that lets small local businesses upload adverts straight onto the website, removing admin costs. Also technical improvements to website to enhance advertising offer. | £59,247 |
| Anglia Ventures Limited (publisher of Ipswich.co.uk) | East of England | Online Only | Partner with local businesses that share values and vision for Ipswich, and turn them into “common purpose partnerships”, by hiring a dedicated Partnership Manager and developing Ipswich.co.uk’s in-house partnerships platform. | £114,100 |
| Cross Rhythms (Stoke on Trent) | West Midlands | Radio | Delivering a digital transformation of its local-news service for Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. | £106,089 |
| FIREFLY NEW MEDIA LTD (publisher of local magazines across the country) | West Midlands, North West, North East | Print and digital news | An independent publisher of free local magazines, including Durham Magazine, Sunderland Magazine, Newcastle Magazine and Consett Magazine. Its project rethinks local news around community participation: new community correspondents help residents tell their own stories, with every story published only after human editorial review, supported by new technology in development that builds local knowledge to help editors verify stories. | £125,000 |
| Local TV Limited* (local news channels for London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Tyne and Wear, Bristol, Cardiff, Teeside, North Wales) | North West, North East | TV | Establishing a Video Journalism Training Programme, addressing the industry’s growing video-skills gap as audiences migrate to video, targeting working journalists, journalism graduates, and NEET young people. | £99,209 |
| Blog Preston Community Interest Company | North West | Online Only | Increasing use of tools and data to build a registered user relationship with audiences including a paid membership tier. | £76,996 |
| Salamander Media Limited (local news for Lewisham) | Greater London | Online Only | The project will develop and launch a dedicated video and podcast strand for Salamander News. | £32,000 |
| Authority Media Ltd (publisher of Local Authority in Medway and Kent Current) | South East | Print and digital news | Delivering a six-month Audience and Revenue Growth Programme across Kent Current and Local Authority, creating repeatable, evidence-led systems for attracting free subscribers, converting them into paying supporters and increasing advertising income. | £43,040 |
| Dim Sum Digital Ltd t/a The Northern Eco | North East | Online Only | Building ParishPot: a new tool that lets local charities, community groups and campaigns raise money from their local community through Northern Eco’s own website, rather than through third-party platforms like GoFundMe or JustGiving. | £63,950 |
| The Bristol Cable | South West | Print and digital news | Transforming how the Cable distributes and grows its journalism, bringing specialist digital audience expertise into the Cable and embedding new capabilities to deliver a six-month digital growth programme focused on building a social-first publishing model, developing audience conversion journeys and testing new approaches alongside the journalism. | £125,000 |
| Central news ltd | England, Wales | Print and digital news | A project to revitalize local public interest court coverage across England and Wales. | £125,000 |
| Epsom and Ewell Times Ltd | South East | Online Only | Epsom and Ewell Times (EET) will undertake a six-month project to strengthen its financial sustainability and expand its capacity to report on local government in Surrey, by appointing a marketing expert to work with local businesses, and funding an experienced journalism trainer to design and deliver courses for volunteer contributors. | £25,000 |
| Ilkeston Life Community Newspaper CIC T/A Erewash Local* | East Midlands | Print and digital news | Launching a dedicated hyperlocal mobile app, upgrade of the digital platform, expanding print distribution, and training community reporters. | £75,900 |
| The Totnes Pulse C.I.C. | South West | Online Only | Rebuilding website with reliable, low-cost, open-source infrastructure incorporating membership, events listings and other features. | £15,000 |
| Wiltshire Publications Ltd (publishes four local community newspapers in Melksham, Westbury, Warminster and Frome) | South West | Print and Digital News | Developing a bespoke automated publishing system that will transform newsroom from a print-first workflow operated since 1981 into a modern hybrid digital and print model. | £26,736 |
| IW Observer Ltd | South East | Print and digital news | Funding will support infrastructure for a weekly subscriber email, a freely available Insight Library and an editorial workflow platform that streamlines preparation, formatting, accessibility and publishing of content, while ensuring all editorial decisions, content creation and fact-checking remain under the control of local journalists. Also developing multimedia templates, accessibility formats, digital workflows and the structure of the Insight Library, supported by AI and informed by audience feedback and experience. | £19,673 |
| Meon Valley Times Limited | South East | Online Only | Building an advertising, sponsorship and supporter operation, including active sales, clearer packages, a CRM, renewals and self-service booking. A Community Engagement Editor at the same time will help more residents contribute useful local knowledge through outreach, practical training and one-to-one support. | £98,450 |
| Newsquest Media Group Ltd (large UK local news publisher) | Greater London | Print and digital news | Delivering the London Local News Lab, a pilot app which will allow journalists to capture video interviews, audio, photographs and notes, leverage AI to produce transcripts, draft articles, video summaries, social content and other publishable formats for review by journalists and editors before publication, and enable journalists to spend more time out in the community and less time at their desks carrying out repetitive production tasks. The app will support the launch of a new hyperlocal news service for Hammersmith & Fulham, publishing community-led journalism in multiple formats, engaging local schools and sharing learnings via an open seminar for the wider local news industry. | £125,000 |
| Brightside Publishing Limited (publisher of local magazines across Kent) | South East | Print and digital news | ‘Brightside Kent’ will see nine existing print-based hyper-local magazines in East Kent expand online, expansion to two new towns in print format, and digital expansion to all parts of Kent, with a commitment to sharing programme learnings. | £120,800 |
| Drawing Board Productions Community Interest Company(publisher of Post Newspapers across Greater Manchester) | North West | Print and digital news | Developing a new eCommerce membership platform, launching PostPodcasting and PostTV channels, and launching four new online Post Newspapers, serving Rochdale, Oldham, Cheshire and Warrington - expanding how Post Newspapers serves Greater Manchester and other regions across the North-West. | £70,500 |
| OCN Technology | Greater London | Online Only | Developing tech to empower a single editor to publish 25+ significant, well-researched and engaging public interest stories a week, in multiple short and long-form text and video formats, using AI responsibly at every step, allowing a public interest news outlet to be profitable without chasing clicks and low-quality content. | £124,879 |
| Social Spider CIC (local community newspapers in London) | Greater London | Print and digital news | Developing structures and systems to double supporter income over a three year period, working with an expert consultant to redesign the structure of the scheme so it is simplified and makes a clear ask of reader supporters. | £29,559 |
| Vanny Radio-Community Broadcasters (local radio station based on Coventry) | West Midlands | Radio | Creating a small multimedia community newsroom producing regular FM and digital news bulletins, interviews, public-interest features, podcasts, short videos and online updates about issues directly affecting residents, including council decisions, health, education, housing, employment, community safety, culture and local events. | £75,000 |
| Harrow Online Ltd | Greater London | Online Only | Delivering a major newsletter promotion campaign through paid digital campaigns, improved website sign-up tools and targeted audience testing, improving subscription technology, developing additional newsletter formats and creating new sponsorship and advertising opportunities linked to the newsletter. | £125,000 |
| The Staffordshire Signal CIC | West Midlands | Print and digital news | Building The Staffordshire Signal TV into a structured video journalism programme, and launching a companion smartphone app, directly tackling a media blackout in South and East Staffordshire where local video and TV news barely exists. | £51,434 |
| Coast Community Radio and Media CIC (operator of Bayside Radio Colwyn Bay) | Wales | Radio | Building upon Bayside Radio’s established local news and community information output, extending existing journalism activity through new partnerships, audience insight and digital publishing capabilities. | £56,090 |
| NN Journal CIC (Northamptonshire) | East Midlands | Online Only | Establishing a permanent mobile newsroom and migrating its publishing platform to a more advanced host, creating a more resilient operating model. | £61,000 |
| The Peel Institute Company (publisher of the EC1 Echo, covering Clerkenwell) | Greater London | Online Only | Delivering a targeted strategy focused on high-quality hyper-local editorial content, community journalism training, institutional partnerships, and an accelerated digital audience acquisition engine - enhancing community integration, and local readership across Clerkenwell, Farringdon, Finsbury, and the wider footprint spanning all Islington postcodes, the City of London, and South Camden. | £44,843 |
| The Barnsley Chronicle | Yorkshire and The Humber | Print and digital news | Modernising the newsroom, by introducing responsible AI efficiencies, alongside a video partnership with Barnsley College. | £39,144 |
Infrastructure fund recipients:
| Company Name | Summary of project | Grant value |
|---|---|---|
| National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) | Launch of a Responsible AI for Trusted Local Journalism programme, which will establish new UK-wide collaborative infrastructure, led by the NCTJ, to create shared, industry-led AI standards, guidance and practical resources for local journalism. | £191,880 |
| Contribly LTD | Contribly Ltd is building two connected tools for local newsrooms across the UK. 1. A Call-out Suggestion Engine will propose ready-to-publish invitations for readers to participate, inviting readers to share their own stories, photos and experiences, drawing on local events and formats that have worked well elsewhere. 2. The Intelligence Exchange, a free tool sharing what genuinely drives reader engagement with any UK local news title, whether or not they work with Contribly. In additional, a skills programme will help journalists make the most of both tools and support their reader engagement strategies. Partners in the project include Baylis Media, which publishes the Maidenhead Advertiser. | £205,620 |
| OCN Technology Ltd, trading as Open Council Network | Expansion of an existing tool, currently used by 35 Local Democracy Reporters working at Reach titles, to cover all councils across England and Wales. The tool simplifies journalist access to council agendas, papers and decisions, and will also be improved through quality-assurance tooling to ensure coverage is accurate across hundreds of councils, more reliable webcast transcription, and engineering to reduce the per-council cost of the tool. An accompanying training programme will upskill journalists in using the tool. | £183,836 |
| Bylines Networks Limited | Development of an independent technology stack to help community and hyperlocal publishers get discovered, build direct audience relationships and convert trust into sustainable support. The stack will integrate publishing and newsletters; community spaces; feeds and aggregation; audience relationship management; events; and distribution/integration with social media - enabling small publishers to tailor and launch their own branded apps. | £149,886 |
| TownSpot Ltd | Expansion of an existing festival-style event-listings platform and discovery network for independent local news publishers, which turns scattered community information into a branded what’s-on service across newsletters, websites, maps and the TownSpot app for each participating publisher, helping publishers to attract readers, subscribers, sponsors and paid event promotion. | £116,200 |
| Data Language UK Ltd | Expansion of an existing AI tool used by some US-based hyperlocals which uses AI to map communities (people, places, businesses; council meetings, planning applications and notices; local events; archives of stories and photographs) and then uses this foundation layer to scan council papers and other emerging information to recommend stories for journalists to pursue. | £268,695 |
| Media Concierge (Holdings) Limited | Expansion of Minerva, a data platform already used by Media Concierge titles, to measure how much revenue each article, advert, and device generates, replacing whole-website averages which the industry currently depends on, to support better monetisation and editorial strategies. Minerva will be opened up to smaller independent publishers outside of Media Concierge’s network, which lack the technical resources to build anything similar for themselves. | £239,960 |
On the Local News Fund:
- Applicants were assessed by a Local News Fund Steering Board, composed of independent industry experts, and were required to demonstrate an established track record of providing local news in England or Wales.
- The Local News Fund is competitive, with all bids assessed according to technical and strategic criteria set out in the Fund advert and application form. A technical assessment of bids was conducted by the Government Grants Managed Service, and a strategic assessment conducted by the Local News Fund Steering Board composed of independent industry experts to guide final decisions on awards by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Bids were assessed according to factors including their overall quality, deliverability and likely impact over the short and long term.
- Bidders also had to meet eligibility criteria, by demonstrating a sustained track record in the provision of local journalism over at least the past 12 months, and by demonstrating that their content is editorially accountable.
- Next year, £1 million from the Fund will be dedicated to tackling local ‘news deserts’, areas that have no dedicated local print, online, TV or radio outlet, in collaboration with key community stakeholders and the Fund’s Steering Board. Up to a further £5 million will also be made available next year to continue supporting financial sustainability and innovation in the sector.
On the Local News Fund Steering Board:
- The government appointed the members of a Local News Fund Steering Board on 15 June following a fair and open recruitment process. The purpose of the steering board is to play an advisory role in providing independent expertise and objective advice to the government in the decision-making process for distribution of funding under the Local News Fund.
- This includes a role in setting the bidding and eligibility criteria for the Local News Fund. In convening this board, the government aims to benefit from a wide range of experience of the local media sector and related industries. This will help to ensure value for money in the distribution of funding and that the best bids are selected for Local News Fund grants, for the benefit of local media and the communities that they serve.
- The steering board comprises eight members, including two co-chairs. The DCMS Senior Responsible Owner for the Fund also attends meetings. The Board may also agree to invite others to attend on an ad hoc basis to provide specialist knowledge if and when required. The membership is:
- Jeremy Clifford (co-chair): Executive Media Consultant, Chrysalis Transformations - previously at JPI Media and Archant
- Polly Curtis (co-chair): Chief Executive at Demos - previous experience at the Guardian, Huffpost UK, Tortoise Media and PA Media
- George Adelman: Managing Director and Head of Philanthropic Partnerships, FT Strategies
- John Baron: editor and cofounder of the West Leeds Dispatch; Advisory Board Member of the Independent Community News Network
- Agnes Gulyas: Professor of Media and Communications, Canterbury Christ Church University
- Jaldeep Katwala: Director, Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, Birmingham City University; - previously Network Manager for the Public Interest News Foundation and Non Executive Director of the Bristol Cable
- Owen Meredith: Managing Director of Public Policy, DMGT - previously CEO of the News Media Association
- Lorna Willis: CEO of Techskills - previously CEO at Archant Community Media