Intervention for UK’s hyperlocal journalism sector

Milestone report raises concerns on sector's sustainability A leading digital analyst will today issue callsfor greater support and recognition for the UK's hyperlocal media sector, at a major conference on the future of community journalism hosted by Cardiff University. Damian Radcliffe , researcher, journalist and Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Culture Studies (JOMEC), will launch a new report which examines the state of hyperlocal publishing in the UK and lays out core challenges facing the sector. The report evidences the contribution of hyperlocal platforms to civic life and media plurality against a backdrop of closures, mergers, cutbacks and declining regional newspaper sales. It also showcases innovative business models and examples of community journalism influencing and informing grassroots decision-making. A collaboration with innovation charity Nesta , the paper outlines concerns around the sector's sustainability, covering financial and personnel pressures, funding models supporting the sector, the role of technology companies in aiding discoverability, publishers' access to non-financial resources, and wider recognition and support from traditional media and decision-makers. Damian, who later this month will become Professor of Practice and Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism at the University of Oregon , will be joined at the event by other leading experts including Daniel Gillmor , Professor of Practice, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and Faculty Associate, Harvard Berkman Center for Internet & Society.