The research comes amid growing concerns about the future of local journalism, with traditional news outlets facing falling audiences as well as difficult financial pressures and competition from social media, streaming and tech platforms.
Impacted by changes in Google algorithms, Leicestershire Live, which includes the Leicester Mercury, in mid-2026 experienced an 83% year-on-year audience decline, the largest reported among Reach Plc's UK news operations.
The project, Local News in Leicester and Leicestershire: A Civic Identity Balance Sheet to Guide Future Action, will investigate whether shrinking local news coverage is leaving communities less connected, weakening their sense of belonging and creating opportunities for misinformation to spread.
Supervised by Professor Andrew Chadwick from the Department of Communication and Media at Loughborough University, Dr Tim Neff of the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Leicester, and Emma Guy and Rhys Everquill at the community-owned Leicester Gazette, the PhD researcher will examine three central questions: What happens to communities when local newspapers decline? Where do people turn for information instead? And can new forms of community-owned journalism fill the gap?
Professor Chadwick said: “Good quality local news is under threat from multiple technological, commercial, and societal challenges. Yet we can also see signs of renewal through alternative organisational models.
“This unique collaborative project will enable a PhD researcher to explore this rapidly changing context while also contributing to our universities’ important missions to produce new knowledge that benefits the citizens of Leicestershire. It’s a win-win.”
Dr Neff said: “With the rise of generative AI and the ever-increasing spread of misinformation, it is vital to find ways to enhance the health of local media systems.
“Quality news and information connect people to their communities, and this project will provide key insights into how we can keep these bonds strong and healthy long into the future.”
The project will involve interviews, surveys and workshops with residents and journalists across Leicester and Leicestershire.
Applications are open until 29 November, 2026.
For more information, visit: collaboratoryresearchhub.ac.uk
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