Warm words on local media, now time for action

Plus: Minute-inspired digest newsletters start to bloom + a shift in where political classes get their info and engage

Good afternoon,

I write from a very sunny Preston - it’s gorgeous out there in the Spring sunshine and it feels like we’ve been locked in a different country with this balmy early summer-type weather we’ve been having. Still have to scratch my beard to believe this time last week I was heading to meet the King…

And there’s been a lot of sunshine for local media recently with hundreds of local journalists and editors invited to Buckingham Palace for an audience with the King and Keir Starmer recently hosting many editors and publishers at 10 Downing Street. It’s great to see recognition for lots of hard-working hacks from across all publishers of shapes, sizes and focus.

But the fundamental question remains, how to support independent local journalism of those shapes and sizes across the UK? There’s much handshaking and warm words for those currently working within it but that will be cold comfort if a Google Core Update sends a chill when it comes around next.

It’s no easy thing to solve and there’s plenty of ideas swishing around about what can be done. Whether Starmer’s government have the resolve to make headway remains to be seen - but it is certainly encouraging to see him, and the King, recognising the important role played by journalists within communities and how the industry has evolved (from new launches, to rebranding, to innovation, across all publishers both established and emergent) even though we may be batting from a sticky wicket.

And now, a few interesting bits which have crossed my feed recently for sharing

The evolution of media and democracy. How we got here. How we might move forward. - Richard Gingras - he remains an influential voice at Google, and that’s crucial because of the role the search (and let’s face it content and everything else) giant has to play in the digital ecosystem not just for news but in everything. Richard highlights the civic importance of local media within communities - about how it is more than just writing stories. Local journalism is a key enabler in having well-functioning places across the country. Although he writes from a US-perspective much of it translates here. Whether Google will come to the table when it comes to meaningful negotiations about the value of journalism remains to be seen, but that’s something Starmer’s government will need to ensure it delivers on.

Just a minute! The newsletter which has prompted a revolution - Behind Local News - I’ve been following with interest

Michael MacLeod

’s journey with The Edinburgh Minute since it began, well done to him on the metronomic consistency he’s been doing (that c word is one of the keys to success in whatever you’re in). The growth of digest-style products shows no sign of slowing and it’s fantastic to see plenty of others (some familiar names to me in there!) grasping the opportunity too. The challenge is, how do we ensure there’s original, quality, local, reporting to be linked to in these digests? While social media and organisations publishing their own content is one thing - having independent, impartial, content that gets under the surface remains the challenge.

Snap survey reveals the political habits of politicians - InHouse Communications - this survey shows how Politico’s Playbook (another digest format) is increasingly setting the pace in Westminster, along with the rise of Times Radio.

The other very interesting stat to me was how X is predominantly the communication and media consumption tool of choice for MPs, but given it has a declining user base and increasingly is out of touch with how people live their lives then a major shake-up is needed in where MPs are listening and communicating. I know for me, Facebook is far more representative of a broad range of views (even if you might not agree with them) and of course being signed up to read and receive newsletters from all local media within that MPs patch (established and independent/emergent) should be a must-read too.

Government Joins Reddit In Bid To Step Up Its Online Communications Strategy - PoliticsHome - and linked to the above, its interesting to see the government diversifying where it places its messages. Reddit has seen an enormous boost in search visibility in the last 18-months as it receives a very favourable showing in Google’s results, and this has rippled into more and more people joining sub-reddits or communities related to their interests, geographies or passions. While the government comms machine may be starting to diversify, it runs counter to how MPs are communicating which is still apparently still very one-dimensional i.e. posting on X. The atomisation of content and communications continues, at pace.

That’s all for this week’s What I’ve Been Reading digest and I hope as usual it proves a useful and interesting read. If you spot anything that I should be featuring then please drop ed@almaonline.co.uk a line and I’ll take a look.

For the next couple of weeks then this digest will pause as I’ve got Easter break and two kids to keep control of alongside day-to-day business at Alma and Blog Preston!

All the best for the rest of the week.

Keep going.

Ed