Products & Formats

North Wales media projects share £90,526 to test AI newsgathering and broaden community coverage

Sunday, 8 November 2026 3:01AM UTC

Wrexham Dotcom will use its grant to develop an AI tool to flag potential stories, while Bayside Radio plans to expand community partnerships and digital publishing.

Two media organisations in north Wales have been awarded a total of £90,526 from the UK Government’s Local News Fund to develop new ways of finding and delivering local journalism.

Wrexham Dotcom Limited will receive £34,436 to build a tool using artificial intelligence to scan publicly available information and flag developments that may merit coverage. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s list of grant recipients confirms the award and says the system is intended to help journalists identify potential stories. It is designed to assist newsgathering, while decisions about what to investigate and publish remain editorial ones.

Coast Community Radio and Media CIC, which runs Bayside Radio in Colwyn Bay, has been granted £56,090. The station says the project will extend its local news and community-information work through partnerships, audience research and stronger digital publishing. It plans to work with groups across Conwy County and the north Wales coast to bring a wider range of community voices into its coverage, distributing journalism on radio and digital channels.

The grants sit within the Government’s £6 million Local News Fund, part of its Amplify: The Local Media Action Plan. The plan sets out aims including helping local organisations adapt to digital audiences, develop online-focused business models and build stronger engagement with communities. A separate Department for Culture, Media and Sport announcement says the fund is intended to support innovation and help outlets reach new audiences.

The wider pressures behind the programme are reflected in Ofcom’s review of local media. Its 2023 survey found that 92 per cent of UK adults used local news or information, and that 89 per cent of those users accessed it online. Ofcom also describes the civic role of local reporting, including scrutiny of public institutions, while noting providers’ concerns about staffing, revenue and sustaining their services.

The two Welsh projects take different routes towards developing local coverage: one is investing in a digital tool to help journalists spot possible stories, while the other is expanding partnerships and publishing across platforms. The Government presents the fund as support for local journalism’s long-term sustainability; the awards themselves do not establish how effectively either project will increase audiences or improve financial resilience.

Source Reference Map

Inspired by headline at: ^[1]

Sources by paragraph:

Paragraph 1: ^[2]
Paragraph 2: ^[2]
Paragraph 3: ^[2], ^[4]
Paragraph 4: ^[5], ^[7]
Paragraph 5: ^[6]
Paragraph 6: ^[5], ^[6]

Source: Noah Wire Services

More on this

https://businessnewswales.com/north-wales-media-businesses-secure-funding-to-develop-new-journalism-services/ - Please view link - unable to able to access data
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-backs-local-journalism-with-6-million-funding-while-careers-campaign-reaches-thousands-of-youngsters - This Department for Culture, Media and Sport announcement lists recipients of the Local News Fund and describes the fund’s purpose and scale. It confirms that Wrexham Dotcom Limited received £34,436 for a tool that monitors public sources and alerts journalists to possible stories. It also confirms that Coast Community Radio and Media CIC, which operates Bayside Radio Colwyn Bay, received £56,090 to build on its existing local-news and community-information work through partnerships, audience insight and digital publishing. Those two awards total £90,526, supporting the article’s central funding figures and project descriptions. The announcement places the awards among a wider group of grants for local outlets and sector infrastructure, explaining that support is intended to help organisations innovate, reach audiences and pursue sustainable local journalism. It also reproduces Media Minister Ian Murray’s comments on the pressures facing local media and the intention to encourage high-quality, trustworthy reporting. As an official government recipient list, this is the strongest corroborating source for the named organisations, award amounts and project summaries. It does not independently validate every forecast or interpretation in the supplied article, such as anticipated efficiency gains or the specific effects of changing audience behaviour.
https://businessnewswales.com/north-wales-media-businesses-secure-funding-to-develop-new-journalism-services/ - The Business News Wales report says two Welsh media organisations will receive a combined £90,526 through the UK Government’s Local News Fund. Wrexham Dotcom Limited’s £34,436 grant is for an artificial-intelligence tool intended to monitor publicly available information and flag potential stories for journalists. The article presents the tool as support for reporting rather than a replacement for editorial work: journalists would still investigate, verify and report developments. Coast Community Radio and Media CIC, operator of Bayside Radio in Colwyn Bay, is awarded £56,090 to extend its local journalism through partnerships, improved audience insight and digital publishing. The article places both awards in the context of pressures on local media, including changing audience habits, digital transition and reduced resources for reporting. It also describes the Local News Fund as a £6 million programme within Amplify: The Local Media Action Plan, and quotes Media Minister Ian Murray on local media’s public role and the need for innovation and sustainable business models. The report concludes that the projects represent distinct approaches to adapting local services and strengthening relationships with audiences. This is the supplied article itself, so it summarises the claims under review rather than serving as independent corroboration.
https://www.bayside-radio.radio-site.com/news/funding-boost-to-bring-more-north-wales-stories-to-light-13109 - Bayside Radio’s report focuses on Coast Community Radio and Media CIC’s £56,090 government grant. It says the funding will enable the station to expand local journalism and strengthen connections with communities across the region. The project is described as building on existing local news and community-information services through new partnerships, better audience insight and enhanced digital publishing. The station plans to work with organisations and groups across Conwy County and the North Wales coast to bring more community voices and stories into its coverage, including stories that might otherwise go unheard. It intends to make journalism accessible through radio and digital platforms. The report identifies the award as part of the UK Government’s £6 million Local News Fund and the broader Local Media Action Plan, whose stated aims include adapting to changing media habits, investing in technology, reaching younger audiences and supporting sustainable business models. It also notes that six organisations in Wales received funding and identifies Wrexham.com’s proposed artificial-intelligence story-finding tool as another project. Operations and Content Director Simon Wynne expresses gratitude to the department and community partners. As the recipient station’s own account, this source gives specific detail about Bayside’s proposed work and confirms its award, while offering a first-party perspective.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/amplify-the-local-media-action-plan - This GOV.UK page introduces Amplify: The Local Media Action Plan, the Government’s framework for supporting the sustainability of local journalism in the UK. It says local media informs people about decisions and events that affect them, scrutinises public services and institutions, and reflects the views of communities. The plan’s stated vision is to improve financial sustainability through digital innovation, proportionate regulation and renewed audience engagement. Its priorities include helping local media operate in a fast-moving digital environment, supporting publishers through digitalisation and the creation of sustainable online-focused business models, and helping organisations adapt to changing online audience habits and reach younger audiences. The plan also aims to address practical obstacles to public-interest newsgathering and encourage relevant, high-quality local reporting. These priorities provide official policy context for the Welsh projects described in the supplied article, particularly the focus on a digital tool, audience insight and expanded publishing capabilities. The page confirms that the action plan was published on 17 March 2026 and identifies the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as the responsible department. It describes the Government’s goals and intentions, rather than independently demonstrating that individual projects will achieve improved efficiency, sustainability or audience reach.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/tv-radio-and-on-demand/reviews-and-investigations/local-media/review-of-local-media-in-the-uk-initial-findings.pdf?v=371109 - Ofcom’s initial review examines local media’s contribution, audience use and pressures on the UK sector. It describes local public-interest reporting as valuable for local democracy and accountability, while noting that local media also supplies practical information and helps people feel connected to their communities. Ofcom reports that most people continue to use local news or information, but online sources are increasingly favoured: its 2023 survey found that 92 per cent of UK adults used local news or information, and 89 per cent of those users accessed it online. The review discusses the challenges providers face in sustaining local offerings, and records that some outlets are diversifying income, forming partnerships, seeking grants and investing in digital activity. It also notes concerns from providers about staffing, revenues and the changing media environment, while presenting differing views on the effects of BBC local online expansion. These findings support the supplied article’s broader context that audience habits are shifting and local outlets face sustainability challenges; they do not verify the specific circumstances or finances of the two Welsh organisations. Ofcom also identifies the civic value of local journalism, including scrutiny of councils and institutions, offering background for the article’s statements about trusted reporting and public accountability.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/local-journalism-to-benefit-from-new-government-funding-to-reach-new-audiences - This Department for Culture, Media and Sport announcement introduces the Local News Fund as government support for local journalism and explains its relationship to Amplify: The Local Media Action Plan. It says the programme is intended to help local news outlets develop long-term financial sustainability, adapt to digital audiences and reach new or younger readers. The announcement describes grants for tools and services such as apps and innovative multimedia channels, linking investment to audience growth and potential new revenue. It also states that £6 million is allocated for 2026–27, with up to a further £6 million available for 2027–28. This is useful policy context for the supplied article’s references to a £6 million fund, digital innovation and sustainability. The announcement concerns the programme’s launch and objectives, rather than confirming the individual Welsh grants; those particular award values and project descriptions are documented in the government’s recipient announcement. The source frames the fund as part of a wider effort to secure high-quality local news over the long term and address the effects of changing media consumption. Together with the action plan, it explains the policy rationale behind grants for projects such as new digital publishing and reporting tools.

North Wales
Local journalism
Local News Fund