Key findings:
 

• The reach of the sector far outstrips its revenue – the 56 respondents to the Index reach 10m monthly unique users on annual revenues of under £5.4m. 

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• The sector operates on a shoestring – the median income of publishers was £42,224 and 40% of publishers generated less than £20,000 income. 

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• Only 7% of publishers received government advertising or public notices.

 

• Only one-sixth of publishers’ revenue came from readers via membership or subscriptions.

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• Some 40% of the publishers’ workforce is female but organisations with a higher proportion of women have higher revenues. 

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• Some 9% of people working in the sector are from ethnic minorities and 70% of publishers have no ethnic minority workers.

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• Publishers said their greatest opportunity was the public’s growing awareness of the importance of local journalism following Covid-19.