Local news brands have a long and proud history of being the most trusted source for local news and information in communities across the UK.

We take this responsibility to you, our readers and commercial partners, very seriously. We campaign on your behalf on the issues that matter and fight for the causes you believe in.

We report on the goings on of the local council, in the courts, and bring you the news that affects your daily lives.

But the way news and information is distributed has changed enormously in the last 10 years. The rapid rise of the internet and smartphones has meant that you are now just as likely to get local news from your mobile as you are from a printed newspaper.

This has presented both challenges and opportunities for local news brands.

Opportunities because we are now able to reach more people than ever before through the new digital platforms. And challenges because the rise of the internet has profoundly changed the way in which the business of local journalism is funded.

Part of the solution has been to pinpoint precisely how people are accessing local news and information in the digital age so we can demonstrate the huge scale of the audiences reading our journalism.

That’s why the industry came together to launch JICREG True Local, the gold standard audience currency.

This initiative has revealed some astonishing facts about the enormous scale of local media in 2019. In print and digital, we reach a combined 40.6m a month, with mobile providing a 94 per cent audience uplift.

Ten million young adults (aged 15-34) read local media on mobile every month, according to the new figures. That’s invaluable information if you’re planning an advertising campaign, and want to make sure your message reaches the right people.

We support the launch of JICREG True Local because we understand the importance of trust, accountability and transparency.