As part of a special four-part podcast series, supported by the Google News Initiative, we’ve been talking to publishers and experts across Europe who are working to find resilient business models. We spoke to them about the state of the local news market in their regions, how they’ve evolved company culture and practice, and what tools and trends they’re working with to prepare for the next decade.

In this first episode, we look at some of the historical context around the state of local news, shifts in the UK and European markets, and what ‘good’ local news might look like. We also do a deep dive into some of the issues facing the UK local news market, as well as the continuing value of local news to communities.

Experts featured in this episode:

Doug Smith – Lead architect, Table Stakes
Pierre France, Co-Founder, Rue89 Strasbourg
Craig Walker, Editor, Press and Journal and Evening Express, DC Thomson
Jonathan Heawood, Executive Director, Public Interest News Foundation
David Floyd, Managing Director, Social Spider
Prof. Dr. Wiebke Möhring, Professor of Journalism, TU Dortmund Institute for Journalism
Benedicte Autret, Head of News Partnerships, UK/IE/Northern Europe, Google

This series is supported by the Google News Initiative. They work with publishers and journalists to fight misinformation, share resources, and build a diverse and innovative local news system. Find out more about their programmes, tools and resources at newsinitiative.withgoogle.com

Futureproofing local news: State of the market