Future of local media

Background The role of local media

Ofcom’s 2024 review of local media in the UK highlights the role of local media in providing audiences with “news and information about what is happening in their local areas”, supporting local democracy, and building social cohesion and engagement among communities. In its 2023 report on the sustainability of local journalism, the then Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee noted that local journalism was “vital to democratic society” and could “help people to feel connected and get involved with their communities”.

Challenges

Ofcom’s review of local media in the UK identified challenges facing local news media across the UK:

These include: audiences migrating from print and TV news sources to online ones; falling advertising revenues; the expansion in the role of online intermediaries in the news value chain; fierce competition online for the attention of audiences who are largely unwilling to pay for news; as well as growing numbers of people who are disengaging from, or actively avoiding, news more widely.

According to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, technological shifts have eroded traditional revenue streams with audiences migrating to online platforms. This has left many local publishers struggling with smaller reach and limited resources—between 2009 and 2019, more than 320 local newspaper titles closed.

In November 2024, the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published a report, The Future of News (PDF), which noted the growth of a “two tier” media environment in the UK. According to the report, there was “a realistic possibility of the UK's news environment fracturing irreparably along social, regional and economic lines within the next 5–10 years”. It also noted the rise in local “news deserts” with many local communities having little local reporting, and the growing embrace of “dubious online sources”. The committee made recommendations (summarised on pages 69-75) on financial health, tech platforms, generative artificial intelligence, serving audiences, misinformation, and strategic lawsuits against public participation.

The government published its response to the committee’s report in January 2025 in which it stated that it agreed with the committee’s “overarching assessment” and was committed to “supporting a free, sustainable and plural media landscape”.

In a June 2025 speech at the Media & Telecoms 2025 and Beyond Conference, Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, commented on the challenges facing the sector:

Print advertising is down by a third, but online advertising has more than doubled. Broadcast viewing is down by a quarter, but on demand viewing is soaring, and the advent of AI, with its enormous potential to support creativity, comes with fresh challenges around copyright, authorship and fair compensation.

Printed statutory notices for alcohol licences

In June 2025, the government announced plans to overhaul planning and licensing rules to slash “red tape” and “make it quicker and easier for new cafes, bars and music venues to open in place of disused shops”. In October 2025, the government launched a consultation on reforming the licensing system which included a proposal to end the requirement for printed statutory notices for alcohol licences.

Some industry leaders have expressed concerns over the proposals. The News Media Association stated that it would “disenfranchise local communities and deprive local journalism of a vital revenue stream”. The Society of Editors stated that it was “deeply concerned” by the plans. Chief Executive of the Society of Editors, Dawn Alford, said:

By publishing applications in local newspapers and online through the industry’s Public Notice Portal, local residents are not only made aware of what is being proposed in their community but allows them the opportunity to take part in the democratic process of determining whether an application should be granted.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) described the proposals as “a double blow to local papers and the public”. Laura Davison, NUJ General Secretary, said:

[L]ocal papers remain the main source of news for many - particularly those who are digitally excluded.

Journalism is already severely underfunded in the UK and depriving papers of reliable revenue could put local titles at risk of collapse. Like pubs, local papers must be recognised as assets of community value.

Government initiatives

In response to a question tabled in the House of Commons, on 26 June 2025, on the sustainability of local media outlets, the government stated that it was developing a “local media strategy”. Stephanie Peacock, DCMS minister, said:

We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops, and we recently held a roundtable discussion with local news editors to discuss our planned approach and collaboration with industry on the Strategy. An industry working group has now been set up to consider the issues in more detail and we will announce more in the coming months.

During a House of Lords debate on 25 April 2025, Baroness Twycross, the DCMS Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, responding to questions around the local media strategy, stated:

We are engaging with industry and recognise the urgent challenge faced by the sector. Although we have not ruled out options for financial support, noble Lords will understand the challenging fiscal context… we are also considering the role of public notices and the important role of the local press in holding local public services to account.

In her June 2025 speech, Lisa Nandy, stated that the government was committed to creating a supportive framework for sustainable, independent journalism in a changing media landscape. She highlighted recent government measures such as the Online Safety Act 2023, the Media Act 2024, digital market reforms, and £1 million of funding “to help support hyper local stations”. The secretary of state also said that the government planned to strengthen public service broadcasting based on Ofcom’s review, publish a local media strategy to ensure trusted local news across the UK, and deliver “the biggest devolution of power out of Westminster and Whitehall in a generation, which will make local news and local media the most important that it has ever been.”

Further resources Parliamentary questions

• Local Press: Lincolnshire, 22 October 2025 |UIN 84152
• Local Press, 21 October 2025 | UIN 83850
• Local Press and Radio: Lancashire, 15 July 2025 | 68103
• Local Press: Lancashire, 26 June 2025 | UIN 63270
• Local Press, 12 June 2025 | UIN HL8395
• Local Press, 2 June 2025 | UIN 56283
• Local Press, 27 March 2025 | UIN 41988
• Local Press, 27 March 2025 | UIN 42120
• Local Press, 4 February 2025 | UIN 28637
• Local Press, 21 January 2025 | UIN 25463
• Local Press, 27 November 2024 | UIN HL 3026

Parliamentary debate

• The Future of News (Communications and Digital Committee Report), HL Deb 25 April 2025 c909