Independent publishers in Wales are set to benefit from a slice of a £100,000 fund to support public interest community news from the Welsh Government.
The Public Interest Journalism Fund is being split into three areas – a small seed-funding pot to stimulate the sector by supporting people with new ideas for sustainable community news sites, and another to support established independent publishers who produce public interest news. A third pot, offering emergency support, is also available.
The grant is being facilitated by Ping! News CIC – a community interest company run by the Independent Community News Network (ICNN) and Bristol-based developer Omni Digital. Ping! aims to support sustainability in the independent community news sector.
ICNN deputy director Matt Abbott welcomed the funding and said: “Independent public interest journalism is more important than ever, especially in Wales where there are huge concentrations of ownership. This fund will address this by providing support to organisations committed to delivering locally relevant public interest news and promoting growth in the welsh community news sector.”
Applicants to the ‘seed funding’ pot of money must demonstrate their commitment to impartial public interest journalism in their communities, showcase their idea and demonstrate how the grant will help them on their journey to becoming sustainable. There are four grants of £5,000 available and successful applicants will also benefit from specialised training and support sessions run by ICNN.
There will also be eight pots of up to £8,000 available to existing publishers in Wales that meet ICNN’s admissions standards. The funding will go towards paying publishers for their time producing public interest community news.
A third pot will offer small grants to existing publishers experiencing an emergency, or technical problems.
The grant programme opens this week.
Full details about the scheme are available on www.pingnews.uk.
ENDS
For further information contact grant administrator John Baron at [email protected] or call 07446 968140.
Notes for editors.
The Independent Community News Network (ICNN) represents more than 120 publications across the UK. It supports new forms of local digital journalism and explores new sustainable models for news.
