The government has awarded £6 million from its Local News Fund to 50 local news organisations across England and Wales, funding new reporter roles, digital skills and a journalism careers campaign for school pupils.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced the awards on 5 November 2026. Most recipients — local print and online titles and independent local television and radio stations — receive grants of up to £125,000, while seven organisations receive infrastructure grants of up to £275,000 for tools the whole sector can use. The fund attracted 214 applications worth £22.5 million.

Several winning projects are hiring directly. Living North is recruiting a head of digital growth, a digital sales lead and an audience and newsletter manager; The Lead Newspapers is hiring a distribution editor and a visual storytelling editor; and a new Oxfordshire local news service is being built around a local journalist and team. London's EC1 Echo has already recruited a part-time reporter on its grant, and Stand Up for Southport is expanding from a one-person operation into a small, properly resourced newsroom.

The awards sit inside the government's "Amplify" Local Media Action Plan. Alongside the fund, the "Inspiring the Future" careers campaign — connecting local media employers and journalists with schools — has reached more than 11,000 students and over 100 schools in a six-month pilot in the North West, with the government seeking a national rollout.

The National Union of Journalists welcomed the fund as support for "jobs, greater local coverage and public interest journalism", while warning that many of its members remain deeply worried about their livelihoods. A further £1 million goes next year towards tackling local "news deserts", and up to £5 million more is promised for 2027, subject to availability.

Sources: GOV.UK, Government backs local journalism with £6 million funding, 5 November 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-backs-local-journalism-with-6-million-funding-while-careers-campaign-reaches-thousands-of-youngsters ; National Union of Journalists, 5 November 2026, https://www.nuj.org.uk/resource/nuj-welcomes-6-million-government-funding-for-local-news.html .