Postcode Lottery is investing £100,000 in independent local journalism through a new partnership with Manchester-HQ’d Mill Media that will give 1,150 young people a year’s free access to quality local news.
Launching at the start of the new academic year, the initiative will provide free annual subscriptions, normally worth £89 each, to 16–25-year-olds across Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, London, Birmingham and Glasgow.
The partnership aims to remove cost as a barrier to accessing subscription journalism for younger audiences, while helping young people develop the habit of engaging with trusted, professionally produced news about the places where they live.
It comes as the way young people access news is changing rapidly. Ofcom’s 2025 News Consumption research found that eight in ten 16–24-year-olds use online platforms to get their news, with three-quarters using social media for news. Across the UK population as a whole, the Reuters Institute’s 2026 Digital News Report found that just 10% of people in the UK currently pay for online news.
The partnership brings together two organisations with a shared belief in the importance of strong local communities. Edinburgh-based Postcode Lottery is itself built around the idea of place: players enter with their postcode and win alongside their neighbours, while a minimum of 30% of every ticket goes towards charities and good causes.
Similarly, Mill Media has built its model around place and community. Founded in Manchester in 2020, the independent publisher was established to demonstrate that there is an audience willing to support high-quality, in-depth local journalism.
Since launching as a one-person operation in Manchester, Mill Media has grown into a network of publications across seven UK cities. Today, more than 200,000 people have joined its mailing lists and over 15,000 paying members support its journalism. It now employs 25 journalists.
The £100,000 investment from Postcode Lottery will fund 1,150 year-long subscriptions, which will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
David Miller, communications director at Postcode Lottery Group, said: “Strong communities need strong journalism. People should be able to understand what is happening where they live and have access to information they know they can trust. That’s particularly important for young people at a time when misinformation can travel incredibly quickly and AI is changing the information landscape.
“Postcode Lottery has a long history of supporting organisations and initiatives around the world that strengthen independent media, advance media freedom and improve access to accurate information.
“Mill Media stood out because its model puts local communities at the heart of its journalism. It started with a belief that people still value properly reported local news and its growth from one publication in Manchester to six more across the country shows there is a real appetite for it.
“We want more young people to experience quality local journalism, but we recognise that paying for a news subscription may not be a priority when you’re 16 or 20. This partnership gives more than a thousand young people the opportunity to discover its value and, we hope, develop a relationship with trusted journalism that lasts well beyond the year.”
Joshi Herrmann, editor-in-chief of Mill Media, added: “We know that great reporting brings a community together. And we know that young people care about what’s happening where they live. But many can’t afford a news subscription. That’s why we’re so excited to partner with Postcode Lottery to put our deeply reported journalism into their hands, helping them build a news reading habit to last a lifetime. Who knows? Some of these young readers might become the great journalists of the next generation.”
The initiative builds on Postcode Lottery’s wider commitment to supporting independent journalism, media freedom and access to reliable information as part of its work to strengthen civil society.
To date, more than £20 million in funding raised by Postcode Lottery players has supported a free and independent press. This includes £6.5 million to the Thomson Reuters Foundation and £400,000 to BBC Media Action, which was named earlier this year as a long-term charity partner and will continue to benefit from funding raised by Postcode Lottery players on an ongoing basis.
Young people aged 16–25 can register for a free subscription to the The Manchester Mill, The Sheffield Tribune, The Liverpool Post, The Birmingham Dispatch, The Glasgow Bell or The Londoner from today (29 September).
