It started as a one-person operation, funded by personal savings and based in a bedroom, with a mission to provide a new format for local news in Manchester, and now The Mill is attracting £350,000 of funding from some big names in journalism including the former BBC director general Sir Mark Thompson.
The sums involved aren’t huge, but the significance for local journalism in the UK should not be underestimated. The Mill is expanding as local newspapers around the UK, and the world, are closing down or shedding staff, creating news deserts where local issues go unreported. So what is the Mill doing right and could it be a model for a new type of local journalism?
As someone who has worked in local journalism, including the much-missed Liverpool Daily Post, I have watched as newspapers have shut their local offices, contracted newsrooms and in some cases stopped printing and turned to web-only operations, so the success of The Mill as part of this climate is worth noting.
