Mill Media, the publisher behind Manchester Mill, has confirmed plans to set up in Glasgow and London.
It comes following the £350k seed funding it received last year – from backers including CNN Chief Executive and former New York Times and BBC boss Mark Thompson.
“When we raised money last year from a group of readers including Sir Mark Thompson, Dame Diane Coyle and others, I immediately heard from several journalists in Glasgow who said our model of long-form local journalism would be very welcome there. So I’m really glad we can now commit resources to launching a new title in Glasgow this summer. It’s an absolutely brilliant city and is the traditional home of Scottish journalism, so I know we will find lots of great writers and editors who want to contribute,” explained Joshi Herrmann, founder and editor-in-chief of Mill Media.
“Our decision to launch in London is more recent. Watching the mayoral race earlier this year, I realised our brand of journalism would add something – for example by providing in-depth data analysis of crime in the capital to fact-check what the parties were saying, or publishing deeply reported pieces about what was driving voting patterns.
“Then last week’s news that the Evening Standard is stopping printing a daily paper after almost 200 years was the clincher. I started my career on the Standard, and it’s been sad to see it getting noticeably thinner every time I come down to London from Manchester. If even a city the size of London can’t sustain a daily paper, it shows just how broken the traditional model of local news has become. I think a city of London’s importance needs high-quality journalism, and we want to be part of providing that.”
Herrmann founded Mill Media 4 years ago today, with the aim to “give journalists the time they need to write great stories.”
Now, the plan is to double the size of its team, with 11 new staff roles across the country, including the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and London.
“I’m incredibly excited about the hires we’re making this year and our new launches,” he continued.
“This company has come so far since I started out on my own in June 2020, but this will be the fastest phase of our expansion, and the timing feels right for it.”
The Glasgow title is expected to launch this summer, with London to follow in the Autumn.
Mill Media has 7,750 paying members across its titles and just over 110,000 free subscribers on its mailing lists.
[Photo: Dani Cole]
