PINF Campaign and Comms Manager Beckie Shuker debriefs on our joint drop-in event in Parliament with the Media APPG
Earlier this month, PINF co-hosted a parliamentary event with the Media All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in sunny Westminster. We invited MPs to drop in and find out whether their constituency is in a news desert – fittingly, the spring sun streaming in created a Saharan atmosphere!
The event attracted 25 MPs and parliamentary staffers who came to hear from independent news publishers in their areas. We were really pleased with the strong, cross-party turnout, which reflects the growing recognition across Parliament that independent local journalism is essential social infrastructure that it is coming under serious threat.
Shortly afterwards, on 17th March, the Government published the Local Media Action Plan, which is an important step towards a viable future for local news. We published our initial assessment of the Action Plan when it launched last week and look forward to working with Government to turn these commitments into action.
The scale of the problem
Conversations at the event focused on the alarming spread of UK news deserts - areas where communities have no access to independent local news. PINF's latest research shows that 4.4 million people across the UK are living in news deserts, with deprived communities hit hardest by recent closures.
Publishers from across the UK kindly gave up their time to share their experiences directly with MPs, demonstrating the positive impact of their work on local communities but also the increasing pressure they are under.
Jonathan Heawood, Executive Director of PINF, said:
The event demonstrated the huge amount of support in Parliament for independent local news. It was great to talk to MPs from around the UK and across the political spectrum about the great work of independent local news providers in their constituencies, the challenges facing the sector and the opportunity to regenerate local news for everyone.
Local journalism is essential social infrastructure
Independent outlets play a crucial role in meeting information needs, but local journalism is not just about reporting the news. Publishers are grounded in the communities they serve, facilitating meaningful community engagement, bringing people together to provide shared experiences and helping inoculate citizens against disinformation.
As Joe Robertson, MP for Isle of Wight East, noted:
Strong local media is so important for scrutinising local decisions and ensuring the public are aware of what is being done in their name... I am pleased to be supporting local media in my junior role in Westminster within the shadow culture, media and sport team.
While he recognised the importance of the diverse media landscape on the Isle of Wight, he acknowledged that due to the encroachment of big tech platforms like Google, the rest of the UK is not so lucky.
The economic challenge
A central topic during the afternoon was the collapse of traditional advertising revenues, once central to the sector, that have largely migrated online. Audience attention and advertising sales revenue is now concentrated in the hands of Google and Meta.
As a result, many local newsrooms have closed or consolidated and there are far fewer journalist jobs than there once were, leaving huge gaps in coverage and contributing to democratic deficit at a local level.
Mohammad Yasin, MP for Bedford, emphasised the importance of quality journalism:
Good journalism is not cheap. It requires time, expertise and dedication. We cannot take local news for granted. It needs proper support, which is why I back calls for an arm’s-length local news fund to strengthen journalism across the UK and to stop the rollback of public notices that help sustain trusted local reporting.
Solutions for a sustainable future
PINF believes that everyone in the UK deserves public interest news that speaks to them, for them and with them. We discussed the following solutions to address the crisis:
- The creation of an independent, arms-length Local News Fund
- Stronger partnerships between the BBC and local publishers
- Protection and reform of public notices as a much-needed revenue stream
- Regulatory action to ensure fairer relationships between publishers and tech platforms
There was clear appetite among MPs to explore these ideas further, with many expressing support for policies that would help sustain and grow independent local journalism.
Taking action to regenerate local news
One thing is clear: the future of local journalism is not just a niche issue for media policy wonks, it is a matter of democratic importance.
As communities across the UK face the loss of trusted local reporting, the risks are significant: reduced scrutiny, increased misinformation and weaker civic engagement. But with growing political support and a clear set of policy proposals on the table, there is also a real opportunity to reverse the decline.
We look forward to further engagement with Media APPG members to make sure the Government's Local Media Action Plan supports independent local journalism for the communities who depend on it.
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