Newsroom engagement tools, coming 2027
Turn reader participation into lasting community loyalty.
Intelligence Exchange is the free newsroom tool that shows you what gives readers a voice, what builds trust, and what keeps them coming back, backed by real engagement data from newsrooms across the UK.
newsroom
Why participation, why now
Readers don't just want content. They want a voice, and a community to belong to.
Every newsroom collects engagement data. Almost none of it tells you what actually builds loyalty: which call-outs make a reader come back, which formats turn a one-off visitor into a regular contributor, and what it takes to grow a community readers are proud to be part of. Intelligence Exchange helps you build your newsroom engagement strategy based on real data.
The shift
From broadcasting at an audience to building a community with one. Participation is the engagement strategy that keeps readers close.
What's different
Most tools measure reach. This one measures belonging, giving readers a voice and showing you what they do with it.
What it is
A free newsroom tool for building community, not just collecting content.
Intelligence Exchange turns real reader participation, call-outs, contributions, votes and more, into engagement strategies any newsroom can act on. It's funded through the government's Local News Fund and built with five newsroom partners, but you don't need to be a Contribly client to use it.
Free, always
Funded for the benefit of the whole local news sector, so every UK title can take part.
Built on real community data
Grounded in genuine reader participation across partner newsrooms.
Open to every newsroom
Any UK local title can use it, Contribly client or not. It's shared infrastructure for the whole sector.
How it works
Three steps to a more engaged, more loyal community.
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1
Join the waitlist
Tell us a little about your newsroom. Takes under a minute.
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2
Get early access
We bring newsrooms in as the tool develops, starting with our launch partners.
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3
Grow your community with confidence
See the engagement data and strategies that work for newsrooms like yours, and act on them.
Why it matters
Participation already moves the numbers newsrooms care about.
Built with five UK newsroom partners
Delivered as part of a Local News Fund Infrastructure grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, building shared participation infrastructure for the whole sector.
UK local titles
Be first to use it.
No cost. No commitment. We'll let you know as soon as your newsroom can get in, starting with early access for our launch partners.
- Free, always, for UK local titles
- No Contribly account required
- Takes under a minute to join
We'll only use this to tell you about Intelligence Exchange access.
Outside the UK?
We're gauging interest beyond the UK too.
Intelligence Exchange is free for UK local titles today, funded through the government's Local News Fund. We haven't yet decided how, or whether, it will work for titles outside the UK.
If you're a newsroom outside the UK and this would help you build reader loyalty, register your interest below. It helps us understand demand and shape what access beyond the UK could look like.
Questions
A few things newsrooms ask.
Do I need to be a Contribly customer?
No. Intelligence Exchange is open to any UK local news title, regardless of whether you use Contribly's newsroom tools.
What does it cost?
Nothing. It's funded through the government's Local News Fund as shared infrastructure for the sector.
When does it launch?
We're building it now with five UK newsroom partners. Waitlist members hear first as access opens.