Community radio stations are set for increased funding under a new government plan to support local media across the UK.
The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is announcing the Local Media Strategy while speaking at the Society of Editors Future of News Conference today, setting out measures to strengthen local journalism and support community outlets including radio.
Up to £12m will be available through a new Local News Fund over the next two years.
Local media organisations in print, online, radio and television will be able to bid for grants to help develop digital tools, improve infrastructure and move towards online focused models.
Part of the funding will support community radio stations, with government saying the plan will almost triple existing funding for the sector while encouraging innovation and helping services reach new audiences.
The strategy also aims to address so called news deserts, where some communities have no dedicated local news outlet.
Evidence cited by government suggests up to 37 local authority districts currently lack a print, online, radio or television news service focused on that area.
Speaking about the plan, 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.”
The strategy also includes a pilot Regional Media Forum in the West of England to explore how journalists can better report on local decision making and public services.
Dawn Alford, Chief Executive of the Society of Editors, said the organisation welcomed recognition of the role local media plays in communities and its importance to democratic society.
Dr Rob Watson, Policy Director of Better Media, welcomes the news but with caution. He told RadioToday: “The government’s recognition that local news and community radio are vital civic assets is welcome and long overdue. However, we need to be careful that this investment does not simply reinforce the position of incumbent providers who have struggled to adapt to changing patterns of engagement.
“There is a real risk that funding becomes concentrated in familiar hands, while new and independent voices remain marginal to the system. If this policy is to succeed, it must open the door to a wider range of contributors and support the development of new, self-sustaining models of local media that are rooted in participation, trust, and long-term community value.”
Better Media says it stands ready to work with policymakers, regulators, and sector partners to ensure that this policy framework supports a genuinely open, plural, and future-facing local media system.
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.”