The government announced the setting up of the Local News Fund worth up to £12 million over the next two years to support local media outlets. The fund aims help local news publishers transition to digital business models. The funding will be distributed through a centrally-managed competitive bidding process, supporting investments in digital tools, software and innovation, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/amplify-the-local-media-action-plan/amplify-the-local-media-action-plan
The fund will also include community radio stations, doubling funding from £500,000 in 2024/25 to £1 million over the next three years. This initiative is part of the government’s broader Local Media Strategy to boost to boost social cohesion and ensure the long term sustainability of local journalism in the UK. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) described the Local Media Strategy as the “first action plan to back local news in a generation”.
The DCMS cited research from the Public Interest News Foundation that showed up to 37 local authority districts are effectively “news deserts” with no dedicated print, online, TV or radio outlets, affecting 4.4 million people.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “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.”
The strategy includes the following measures: a
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A Local News Fund with up to £12 million in government grants distributed over two years to support “digital innovation” and “to fill ‘news deserts”. Further information on the Fund will be shared in the coming weeks.
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Increased annual funding of £1 million for community radio over the next three years, to sustain 400 existing stations and encourage the sector’s development “in underserved areas”.
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A new ‘Inspiring the Future’ campaign based in the North West focused on developing media literacy skills and promoting journalism as a career to young people from diverse backgrounds.
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Promoting the ‘Newspapers for Schools’ News Library – an existing government scheme offering digital access to 150 local and national news titles – to pupils and teachers in state schools.
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Establishing a Regional Media Forum in the West of England “to improve the relationship between local journalists and local public services.”
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A review of public notices, including local government decisions and alcohol licencing notices.
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Increased use of local and hyperlocal media in government advertising campaigns.
The decision was welcomed by the NUJ which has campaigned for a number of the these measures in its News Recovery Plan. Commenting on the announcement, general secretary Laura Davidson welcomed the plan, describing it as a ‘positive start’.
She added: “While the measures announced today will help relieve some of those pressures, more needs to be done. This means addressing the huge power imbalance between local publishers and tech giants, who dictate search traffic, gobble up advertising revenue, and continue to profit from the theft of journalists’ work without contributing their fair share to the preservation of the sector.
“We call on the government to engage the union and our members meaningfully in the next stage of this strategy and adopt further measures in the NUJ’s News Recovery Plan to truly revitalise local journalism.”