Reflections from the Local News Forum 2025

The Independent Media Association (IMA) was thrilled to take part in PINF’s Local News Forum 2025 in Leicester on 10/11 October. About 65 people turned up – from tiny village papers in Devon to bustling city titles in Suffolk, plus think‑tanks, civic‑tech groups, academics and funders. It felt like a big family gathering for anyone who cares about local journalism.

Amplify / Devon Winters

Eliot Higgins of Bellingcat opened the first day with his “Demanufacturing Consent” talk. He laid out just how huge misinformation and disinformation has become and walked us through Bellingcat’s open‑source toolkit and a brand‑new council transcript tool that can help local reporters cut through the noise.

Funding was a hot topic, too. A panel made up of a philanthropic foundation, a social‑investment firm and a community foundation painted a clear picture of today’s fundraising landscape and offered useful tips for small newsrooms hunting sustainable income. Hearing realistic advice on diversifying revenue was exactly the boost publishers needed.

With the BBC’s charter due for renewal, the forum hosted a lively discussion about what that means for local outlets. It gave us a chance to voice concerns and explore win‑win ideas – the kind of constructive dialogue the IMA hopes to see between public‑service broadcasters and the local independent media.

Saturday broke into several roundtables covering everything from choosing the right legal structure for a newsroom to the newest AI tools, training, social impact and revenue growth. There were also a number of lightning talks on investigative projects as part of the Tenancious Journalist awards, including presentations from IMA members Bristol Cable and Northern Eco.

A huge thank‑you to everyone who came to Leicester, especially IMA member Leicester Gazette for hosting us.