Contribly wins Local News Fund backing to help newsrooms build loyal communities
Contribly has won more than £200,000 from the Local News Fund, the Government's new scheme for local journalism, to build free tools that turn reader participation into lasting community loyalty.
We are one of just seven infrastructure organisations funded nationally, alongside 50 publishers. The money will pay for three things: a Call-out Suggestion Engine, a free Intelligence Exchange tool open to any UK local news title, and a skills programme for journalists.
Here is what we are building, why we think now is the moment, and how your newsroom can get involved.
Newsrooms know reader participation works. They just don't have the time.
Every newsroom we talk to says the same thing: they know participation works, and they cannot find the capacity to do it consistently.
The evidence is strong. The Irish Times gathered more than 40,000 reader stories through call-outs on Contribly. Mediahuis Nederland saw six times the page views and four times the time on page. When readers get a voice, they come back, sign up and stay.
The obstacle is the work behind it. Writing a call-out, choosing the angle, moderating replies and following up all compete with the next deadline. So participation stays an occasional feature instead of an everyday habit. That is a capacity problem, not a belief problem.
It is also why we talk about community generated content (CGC), not UGC. CGC is sent straight to your newsroom, arrives with first-party data attached, and starts a relationship on your own platform, not a social network's.
What we are building: free newsroom tools for engagement strategy
Working with five newsroom partners, Baylis Media, Iliffe Media, Reach PLC, South West Durham News and The Northern Eco, we will build three connected things:
A Call-out Suggestion Engine. It will propose ready-to-publish call-outs, drawing on local events and formats that have worked well elsewhere. Journalists approve and publish instead of starting from a blank page.
The Intelligence Exchange. A free tool showing what genuinely drives reader engagement, open to any UK local news title, whether or not you work with Contribly. Its insight will come from the participation measured through Contribly's tools, so every approved call-out helps make it richer for everyone.
A skills programme. Training to help journalists make the most of both tools and of reader engagement, so confidence grows alongside the data.
Together they form a loop. Suggestions improve as insight grows, and insight grows as more call-outs run.
Why now: AI can answer questions, but it can't build a community
AI tools now answer a reader's question in seconds, and search and social traffic to publishers keeps shifting. The one thing a chatbot cannot do is build a trusted relationship between a newsroom and the people it serves.
Participation can. A reader who shares a photo, a memory or an opinion becomes part of the story, and a reader who is part of the story has a reason to return. That loyalty is what sustains local journalism, and it is why we think the next era of publishing is built on participation, not just broadcasting.
As our co-founder Linda Broughton put it: "We help local newsrooms offer something AI and social media can't: a trusted place where communities can participate, share their stories and have a voice."
How to get involved
The Intelligence Exchange is free for UK local news titles, and you do not need to be a Contribly client. Join the waitlist to be among the first to use it.
If you work outside the UK, you can register your interest too. We are gauging demand to shape what access could look like.
Want to see participation in action today? Explore Contribly's newsroom tools or read the case studies from The Irish Times and Mediahuis Nederland.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Local News Fund? A UK Government scheme, run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, that funds local news projects and the shared infrastructure the sector relies on.
What is the Intelligence Exchange? A free newsroom tool that will share what drives reader engagement and community loyalty, built from real participation data across UK local titles.
Do I need to be a Contribly customer? No. It is open to any UK local news title.
How much did Contribly win? Contribly was awarded £205,620 by DCMS.
When can I use it? We are building it now with five newsroom partners. Waitlist members hear first as access opens. Join here.