Latest news
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Government’s Prominence Plans Risk Press Freedom, Warns News Media Association
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Chi Onwurah: My Constituents Feel Big Tech Controls Their Lives
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New Audience Measurement Platform Raid Announced For Local News Media
Areas of Focus
Sustainability of Local Journalism
Local news media informs the public, holds local authority to account and reports on the stories that matter. This is because local journalists care about, belong to, and participate in the communities they serve.
Press Freedom
Freedom of expression is a universal human right. It is not the prerogative of the politician. Nor is it the privilege of the journalist. In their day-to-day work, journalists are simply exercising every citizen’s right to free speech.
AI & IP
The rapid advancement of AI in recent years has caused serious concern over the role it will play in spreading dis and misinformation online and beyond. To combat these dangers, journalism will play as vital a role as ever in combatting the dangers AI poses to our society.
Digital Markets
High-quality independent journalism informs and engages the public, debunks misinformation, brings together communities, and holds the powerful to account. As the biggest investors in journalism in the UK, news media publishers are the powerhouses for journalistic content, often setting the news agenda for others to follow, providing a significant contribution to our democratic society.
Safety of Journalists
Journalists have a fundamental role to play in holding power to account on behalf of the public. Sadly, those who wish to avoid such scrutiny can resort to threatening journalists with physical violence or other forms of intimidation to censor their reporting.
Media and the Environment
Print and paper is used by news media publishers to produce their print titles. Newsprint is uncoated paper, made out of mechanical pulp or waste paper, which is used to produce newspapers. Nowadays, people realise that newspapers are not responsible for rainforest depletion.
Making a Difference
Kent Online
The Guardian
Birmingham Mail and BirminghamLive
In numbers
of UK adults say they use local media
Source: NMA “Local Matters” (2024)
Media freedom supports economic growth. A 97-country study links declining press freedom to 1-2% lower GDP.
Source: UNESCO ‘The Value of Journalism’ (2026)
82% of people are reached by news brands in the UK each month
Source: PAMCo (2025)
Nine in ten adults say journalism is important to society today – up by 20% on last year’s poll
Source: Newsworks (2026)
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