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- Launches the first action plan to back local news in a generation
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- First local media strategy in a generation guarantees up to £12 million funding for local media’s digital innovation, for community radio and to fill ‘news deserts’
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- Campaigns to promote ‘Newspapers for Schools’ and encourage young people into journalism careers
- West of England to pilot improving reporting on local decision-making and public services
LONDON, England – Communities across the UK will benefit as the government backs high-quality and trustworthy local journalism with a new local media action plan.
Speaking at the Society of Editors Future of News Conference Tuesday, 17 March, the Culture Secretary will back the essential role of local media in communities all over the UK. The Local Media Strategy is part of the steps the government is taking to improve social cohesion and protect what matters.
The strategy also includes new funding to help local news publishers innovate digitally, support community radio stations and tackle the risks of ‘news deserts’ by helping to revive a local news presence in communities that currently don’t have one.
Speaking at the conference, the culture secretary will say:
“This strategy will provide unprecedented funding for local media outlets to invest in innovation and infrastructure, almost tripling the size of funding for community radio, harnessing the power of local and national government and giving more young people access to high-quality journalism and the opportunity to pursue careers in it.
“Because local media was and always has been a ladder of opportunity to help new voices break into journalism. This is not a nice to have. It is essential to a cohesive country. Our debate is too narrow and too small. We will change that. The strategy we publish today is the start – not the end point – and we recognise there is more to do. But it is the start of a new approach to local media, which nurtures it and places it directly at the heart of our government’s support for our country. Because the future of news is local.”
A new Regional Media Forum in the West of England will explore ways to improve the relationship between journalists and local public services. The forum, alongside a wider review of the publication of statutory notices in local newspapers, will aim to stimulate generation of public interest news and scrutiny of local decision-making.
Other measures in the strategy include a campaign in schools in North West England to inspire young people from all backgrounds to pursue local media careers, and a commitment to guarantee digital access to a wide range of local and national news in all state schools in England.
The strategy commits central government to ensuring it makes best use of local and hyperlocal media in its advertising and public information campaigns, while helping them to become more competitive and championing their use in commercial advertising.
Local media outlets in print, online, radio or TV will be able to bid for grants to support their financial sustainability and transition to online-focussed business models under a new multi-year Local News Fund worth up to £12 million over the next two years.
Digital tools, resources and infrastructure can help the industry in its move towards a sustainable future, stemming the closure of titles and journalist redundancies. For example, new tools and software – such as adtech, apps or better website architecture – could help local media tap into new or younger audiences and revenue streams, or simplify and centralise journalists’ access to public records.
Evidence shows that up to 37 local authority districts now have no print, online, TV or radio outlet dedicated specifically to that area – leaving as many as 4.4 million citizens in local ‘news deserts’, which disproportionately occur in the most deprived urban areas.
A portion of the Local News Fund will be used to revive local news in these areas where a presence has retreated. This could see existing local news publishers or neighbouring news titles expand into the area or revive a dormant title, or the establishment of brand new, independent, community-owned titles.
