The UK government this year introduced a local media strategy designed to strengthen local journalism and address the decline of community news.

Among its aims is a pledge of up to £12m to help local news publishers invest in digital technology and support community radio stations, as the industry continues to struggle with the decline of print and the emergence of news deserts.

Industry response has been largely positive, described as a 'welcome start' that could encourage younger people to take an interest in local news – though important details are yet to surface. And familiar arguments waged on: 'legacy news is in denial about the industry's decline' versus 'legacy news does a lot of the thankless reporting others don't.'

So we, together with a trusted source, looked deeper into the report. Section D of the report specifically talks about how innovation funding will sustain local news. We've summarised it as follows:

A new Local News Fund will provide up to £12 million over two years (2026–2028) to help local media transition to sustainable digital models as print declines. The fund will be distributed mainly through a competitive bidding process to outlets whose primary purpose is local news, supporting investments in digital tools, software, and innovation.

  • Year 1: £6 million for local media (print, online, radio, TV) and third parties developing industry-wide tools.
  • Year 2: £1 million specifically to revive local news in "news deserts," with potential for up to £5 million more for digital innovation and sustainability.

Funding can support projects such as:

  • Adtech and analytics to boost revenue and subscriptions.
  • Improved websites, multimedia, and audience engagement tools.
  • Responsible AI for newsroom efficiency and content adaptation.
  • Industry collaboration platforms for advertising, content sharing, and public records access.
  • The fund will be centrally managed with oversight from a diverse steering board to ensure fairness and independence. Full details on eligibility and application will be announced soon.

Interesting. But how do those working in local journalism intend to engage with this scheme? Where do they see the greatest needs of their organisation, and if successful, where would they invest the money?

We reached out to different stakeholders working in local news to design the following survey. Please fill it out and share it with peers, as we hope to foster a more constructive conversation around needed support for local and regional journalism and a robust set of findings to send to the UK government.

Here's the survey link, or fill it out below:

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Written by

Jacob Granger
Jacob Granger
Jacob Granger is the community editor of JournalismUK

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