Local media is where stories come to life – and where curious young people can build exciting careers. It’s a creative and fast-moving sector full of opportunity. This campaign aims to spark children’s interest in local media and inspire a more diverse generation to see it as a place where they can thrive.
Launching as a six-month pilot across the North West (April–October 2026), the programme connects primary and secondary school students with people working in local media.
What students experience:
- Interactive sessions
- Conversations with media professionals
- Hands-on activities
- Exposure to real career pathways
Students will meet journalists, editors, digital content creators and production teams – gaining real insight into the range of roles available.
For many children, especially those from under-served backgrounds, careers in local media can feel out of reach or “not for someone like me”. Meaningful encounters with role models can change that by challenging stereotypes, broadening their horizons, and helping them see new possibilities for their future.
Interested in getting involved? Scroll down to find out how to take part.
Why this matters
The local media sector is receiving renewed national focus and significant investment, supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the News Media Association. At the same time, there is a growing need to attract diverse new talent into the industry.
Local media plays a vital role in our communities. Journalists hold local governments, councils, schools and businesses to account; reporting on the issues that directly affect people’s everyday lives. While national media often focuses on big national stories, local reporting covers what’s happening closer to home. Without it, important stories can go unnoticed and communities left disconnected and without essential information.
Local media also supports local economies. By covering local businesses, jobs and services, it plays a key role in sustaining local economic activity -particularly for smaller organisations.
The North West is uniquely placed to lead this change. With a rich media landscape – including MediaCityUK – and thousands of professionals working across local print and digital media, the region offers a superb opportunity to connect young people with the range of local media that’s literally on their doorstep.
What children can expect
Schools and children taking part in the pilot can expect a range of interesting and engaging activities, along with support to organise their own. Many of our team are former teachers, so they make sure all activities are pitched just right for each age group:
- multiple in-person school events, providing a diverse mix of volunteer role models engaging in small classroom groups.
- various virtual school events, giving the chance to bring both local media professionals and ones from further afield, directly into your classroom.
- 2 larger in-person showcase events with interactive elements, ‘what’s my line’ type guessing games, great volunteer role models from local media, and a special guest or two.
- 2 virtual multi-school events – which enable numerous schools to join our engaging and interactive events, reaching 1000s of children.
WATCH: children’s reactions to some of the primary activities we run
Who can get involved
Schools and colleges
All primary and secondary state schools across the North West are invited to take part. By signing up, you can give your students inspiring, real-world insights into careers in local media, through interactive, inspiring and age-appropriate sessions.
Local media professionals
If you work in local media, you can get involved by sharing your experience with students – whether that’s through a short talk, Q&A, or virtual session.
You don’t need to be a “volunteer” or have prior experience working with schools. We’ll support you to take part in a way that fits your time and schedule. It’s a simple way to give something back, raise awareness of your role, and help young people see what a future in media could look like.
“Local media is the lifeblood of our democracy.”
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Ways you can get involved
Schools
Sign up to connect your students with local media professionals, take part in our range of activities, and discover how to easily run your own events too.
For this project, your school must be located in the North West of England. If so, do get in touch and register your interest to find out more.
Media professionals
If you work in local media, we’d love to hear from you – whether you’re based in the North West or elsewhere in the UK.
By taking part, you’ll help young people discover different roles, understand the routes into them, and see that people from all backgrounds shape our media.
Employers
If your organisation would like to support this work, do get in touch to find out more.
Supporting your staff to take part is a simple way to help young people discover careers in media, while offering colleagues a meaningful opportunity to share their experience and give something back.
About the funders
This campaign is supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the News Media Association.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
DCMS supports the UK’s cultural, media and creative sectors, helping them to grow, innovate, and better reflect the communities they serve. This project is part of the refreshed DCMS-funded £9million creative careers service – an industry-led initiative to provide young people with experience of the creative industries.
News Media Association
The News Media Association represents the UK’s news media industry, championing the role of trusted, high-quality journalism and supporting the future of local and national news.
