United Kingdom

In the UK, Internews is partnering with the British Community Media Association on a project – Transmit-Transform – designed to cement the vital social role of grassroots, volunteer-led media in the UK.  We aim to strengthen the financial sustainability of community radio stations as well as increase the quality of local journalism and current affairs content, to demonstrate the positive impact it can have on local communities and social cohesion.

Community media outlets are uniquely placed to fill a growing void in access to the most localised, reliable and high-impact news and information in the UK. In so doing, they are often the most effective means through which otherwise marginalised and underrepresented people can have their voices heard thus increasing social cohesion. Furthermore, Community Media are increasingly filling a public service gap with education, training and other personal development opportunities for vulnerable member of society; further increasing their relevance and credibility in the markets they serve.

Through a competitive national call for proposals in April 2018 we selected three community media organisations to benefit from pilot grant funding that demonstrated the best ideas for content, audience engagement and sustainable business development. The selected stations have all received sub grants to implement their plans and alongside this are benefitting from world-class Internews capacity building workshops from deeply experienced journalism trainers and a programme of on-going mentoring to improve their community journalism content and long-term sustainability.