Join the cricket coverage revival 🏏 Good morning from JUK
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📰 Today’s must-read
Howzat? Counterpress steps up to revive UK county cricket coverage 🏏
Counterpress, an independent platform for regional sports journalists, is making a bold play to revive coverage of neglected sports — most notably county cricket — amid a long-term decline in local reporting.
By April, it expects to cover 15 of the 18 professional county cricket clubs, giving local journalists full editorial autonomy and ownership. The model has already shown promise with The Moonraker (Swindon Town FC), which has generated £26,000 in annual revenue and attracted over 800 paid subscribers. But the next test will be for its cricket titles waiting in the wings.
It's looking for three more cricket enthusiasts to cover their local clubs in Essex, Glamorgan and Gloucestershire. Is that you? Get in touch with the team.
Howzat? Counterpress steps up to revive UK county cricket coverage - and so can you
The independent platform for regional sports journalists expects to cover 15 of the 18 professional county cricket clubs before the season starts in April
Jacob Granger
🗳️ Community pulse
Marina Adami, digital journalist at the Reuters Institute, is looking to hear from freelance journalists, illustrators, copy-editors, and commissioning editors about how generative AI is affecting their work. She’s gathering perspectives from around the world for an upcoming piece. If you’d like to share your experience, fill out the form or get in touch directly.
AI and freelance journalism
Share your experience with us of if and how your work as a freelancer or with freelancers has changed with Gen AI. By filling in this form, you are agreeing for us to copy-edit and publish your response. We reserve the right to opt not to publish your response.
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NEW: Editor in Chief, Yahoo News UK - Make your own content vision, curation and operations shine across News, Lifestyle and Entertainment, while managing people, budgets and partners at this global media and tech company.
Head of Editorial & Community – The Staff Canteen, Eastleigh
Shape editorial direction, lead a content team, and be the face of the brand across the UK hospitality sector.
NEW: Local Democracy Reporter - Southern Daily Echo
Newsquest is looking for a local democracy reporter to cover councils across Hampshire, holding those in power to account and standing up for the interests of our communities.
Head of Editorial Direction – Eleven Content
Premium B2B content agency needs someone to set standards, lead editors, and ensure quality at scale.
AI Expansion Reporters – Newsquest (West Midlands & Worcester)
Help expand AI-assisted journalism whilst delivering quality digital news coverage. Two regional opportunities available.
Deputy Editor (Freelance, 3 days/week) – Q+A magazine, London
Support the editor with production deadlines and maintaining high editorial standards.
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👓 Keep reading
News Alchemists’ 2025 Freelance Year in Review stands out for its honesty.
Mattia Peretti doesn’t just analyse the trends — he shares his own earnings, giving a rare, clear-eyed look at what freelancing and consultancy really mean in 2025 going into 2026.
It’s a brave move that cuts through the noise and shows the realities of making a living in this industry. If you want a grounded sense of where freelance journalism is heading, this is essential reading.
2025 Freelance Year in Review
2025 was my first full year working freelance. It was... quite a ride. This post is a reflection on how things went and what my goals are for 2026. I also share a breakdown of the revenue I made in 2025 – because we don’t talk enough about money, and we
Mattia Peretti
⏳ Watch this space
WalesOnline is the next Reach title to introduce a paywall, following similar moves at the Liverpool Echo and Manchester Evening News.
We've already looked at the emerging model, which will offer exclusive content and subscriber features, as Reach continues to balance its traditional focus on page views with a growing push for reader revenue.
Reach is launching paywalls, but its pursuit of page views isn’t over
Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo have launched paywalls, as the news group hedges its bets on both reader and ad revenue
Jacob Granger
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Thanks for reading - Jacob Granger, community editor
Written by
Jacob Granger is the community editor of JournalismUK