About
What is PINF?
The Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) is the UK’s first and only charity working to regenerate local news.
Big tech greed, corporate takeovers and declining advertising mean that local news providers are still having to fight to keep local news alive.
Local newsrooms knit communities together, strengthen democracy and are the antidote to the disinformation peddled through big tech. But hundreds of local newsrooms and thousands of local journalists have been lost as advertising revenue has evaporated.
People need information and shared understandings to participate meaningfully in democracy. And yet, 4 million Brits live in news deserts.
Communities deserve healthy news ecosystems that facilitate the free flow of information, speak truth to power and shine a light on important issues.
At PINF, we believe that no news is bad news. Something needs to change.
Local news providers in the PINF network are meeting this challenge head-on. Across the country, indie news is strengthening democracy, holding power to account, creating pride in place and fostering civic participation.
But they need the support of funders, decision-makers and the public.
How we Work
PINF’s strategy is organised around three pillars:
- Local News Fund - working with funders to unlock new resources for local news across the UK.
- Local News Campaign - building new relationships with the BBC, big tech and local government to support local news to thrive.
- Local News Futures - spotlighting new approaches to journalism that help local news outlets best serve their local communities.
Our research and advocacy is powered by our network of over 100 local, independent, public interest news providers from all corners of the UK: from Devon to Shetland, Newry to Caerphilly.
As an independent charity, PINF is not dependent on the government or the legacy news industry for support. We are funded by generous individual donors, companies, trusts and foundations, giving us the freedom to form our own vision of the future.
What is Public Interest News?
'Public Interest News' is news and other information which is produced and disseminated to the public according to high standards of ethical conduct and best practice in journalism and which provides one or more of the following benefits to the public:
- Informs members of the public about matters of relevance to their role and responsibilities as citizens;
- Enables members of local communities to become aware of and understand matters of common concern to them as members of their community and which promotes their involvement and cooperation in such matters and community cohesion accordingly;
- Enables members of the public to participate in an informed manner in relevant democratic processes and, as a result, supports the legitimacy of the democratic process as a whole;
- Benefits the public by promoting charitable educational outcomes, such as improving public understanding of health and medical matters or the conservation of the environment; and
- Specifically excludes material which is simply entertaining in nature, politically motivated, biased or inaccurate, or which fails to observe a person’s right to privacy.
