PINF Local News Forum 🗞️

Join us to help work on regenerating local news in the UK at the Local News Forum, hosted by the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) in partnership with Leicester Gazette.

The forum will take place at City Hall, Leicester from Friday 10th to Saturday 11th October 2025.

Connect with new people, catch up with old friends, share your expertise, and let's build the future of local news together!

The forum will feature a variety of speakers, panels, and workshops, as well as ample time for informal conversations and connections. 

You can expect:

• A keynote speech from Eliot Higgins, founder of multi-award-winning open source investigative journalism project Bellingcat, on the role of local news in democratic resilience; 
• A panel on the future of funding for local news featuring one of the UK's largest grantmakers and one of the biggest social investment organisations;
• Speed-networking sessions to make the most of connections among the 50+ newsrooms and orgs now confirmed from across the UK;
• Discussions on the future of the BBC’s relationship with local news;
• Workshopping our collective ideal local news fund for the UK;
• Next steps in the campaign to make public notices fair;
• Lightning talks on some of the powerful stories produced by the first ever cohort of Tenacious Journalist Award winners;
• Lunch, tea and snacks on Friday and Saturday, and a relaxed evening social with dinner on us on Friday evening.

Above all, this is a chance to gather together in the service of a thriving local news scene in the UK.

Bonus! There's also a chance to join a tour of the Leicester Gazette newsroom — and get a sneak preview of their first-ever print edition — in the morning before the forum kicks off.

The forum is by invitation only, so if you've been forwarded this sign-up page, please do check with PINF first.

We look forward to seeing you in Leicester!