Local journalism to benefit from new government funding to reach new audiences

Local journalism to benefit from new government funding to reach new audiences
Local news outlets can now apply for grants of up to £125,000 to support their long-term financial sustainability
- Local News Fund is part of the government’s Local Media Action Plan - a strategy backing the essential role of local media in our towns and communities
- Second year of the Fund will also be used to tackle ‘news deserts’, by helping to revive a local news presence in communities that currently lack one.
Local news outlets can now bid for a share of up to £12 million in government funding over the next two years, which will ensure communities can continue to benefit from trusted, high-quality local journalism.
Part of ‘Amplify: The Local Media Action Plan’, the Fund will provide £6 million in 2026/27 and up to a further £6 million in 2027/28, which will help ensure the long-term provision of high-quality local news by enabling organisations to continue innovating towards a digital and sustainable future.
The Plan demonstrates the government’s commitment to the future of local journalism, ensuring it can continue to enrich our national conversation, strengthen communities and social cohesion, rebuild social trust, and support local growth.
The majority of the 2026/27 Fund will be awarded to local news outlets in print, online, or independent local TV and radio stations, through a competitive bidding process, with £125,000 the maximum available to a single organisation. The funding can be used to invest in the tools and services - such as apps or innovative use of multimedia channels - needed for sustainable innovation which can help local media tap into new or younger audiences and generate new sources of revenue.
The remainder of the Fund will be allocated through a separate bidding process which also opens today, reserved for organisations which are developing the infrastructure that can benefit the industry as a whole, with bids allowed up to £275,000.
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.
That’s why in the second year of the Fund, £1 million will be dedicated to tackling these local news deserts in collaboration with key community stakeholders, to revive or establish a local news presence in areas of need. This will help address news inequality, as local news closures disproportionately affect deprived urban districts, while new enterprises are concentrated in more affluent communities.
Subject to availability, up to a further £5 million in 2027/28 will provide continued support for the financial sustainability and innovation of the sector.
To qualify for local news outlet funding, prospective bidders must be able to demonstrate a track record in the provision of local news to audiences in England or Wales.
Media Minister Ian Murray MP said:
Local media is a cornerstone of our civic life and when it declines, communities lose access to accurate information, scrutiny of decision-makers and a vital local voice. That’s why we’re launching the Local News Fund - with up to £12 million available over the next two years, it marks an important step towards securing the future of local media across the UK.
I encourage local news organisations, publishers and innovators to come forward with ambitious proposals that will help to strengthen local media for the long term, ensuring communities continue to benefit from high-quality, trusted local reporting.
Polly Curtis, Co-Chair of the Local News Fund Steering Board, said:
Strong local news creates stronger communities. This £6 million fund is an investment in civic life, democracy and the trusted journalism that helps bring people together.
We encourage everyone who is working in local news to put forward their most innovative ideas to help build shared resilience for the future for local journalism.
Jeremy Clifford, Co-Chair of the Local News Fund Steering Board, said:
The local news industry has a track record of innovating and responding to the many challenges it has faced down the years. However, often those innovations fail to get off the ground because they cannot be funded.
We strongly believe this fund can help to ignite that innovative thinking and be the catalyst for delivering some exciting and imaginative experiments.
Laura Davison, NUJ General Secretary, said:
The NUJ welcomes the launch of the Local News Fund. For many years the union has campaigned for government grants to preserve and bolster local journalism subject to appropriate safeguards.
The Fund is recognition that the industry cannot be left to the vagaries of the market and that our members working in local news play a pivotal role in upholding social cohesion and democracy.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
On the Local News Fund:
- The Fund is competed, with all bids to be assessed according to technical and strategic criteria set out in the Fund advert and application form. A technical assessment of bids will be conducted by the Government Grants Managed Service, and a strategic assessment conducted by a Local News Fund Steering Board composed of independent industry experts to guide final decisions on awards by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Bids will be assessed according to a number of factors including their overall quality, deliverability and likely impact over the short and long term.
- Prospective bidders for 2026 to 2027 will need to meet specific qualifying criteria, central to which will be that the provision of local news is a primary purpose of the organisation. Funding can be used to invest in the tools and software required for sustainable innovation. The rest of the fund in its first year will be subject to a separate bidding process for infrastructure funding for the benefit of the industry as a whole.
- On news deserts, the first year of the fund will be used to identify suitable candidate locations and appraise options with community stakeholders, for example inviting an existing local news publisher or neighbouring local news title to expand into the area or revive a dormant title, or establishing a brand new community-owned title. Subject to availability, further funding up to an additional £5 million would be dedicated to supporting financial sustainability and innovation along the same lines as the first year of the 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 will also attend 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