Ping News CIC will help realise the full potential of theindependent community news sector, supporting hyperlocal journalists with free access to cutting edge news delivery technology and new revenue streams.

We will help drive a new era of development, growth, and resilience within the sector, while preserving its independence.

Our work will lead to the following values:

• Building connections, intimacy, trust, and local knowledge

• Sustainability of the local news sector

• Securing and increasing diversity of voice

• Representing all communities and reaching new audiences

• Empowering communities to build resilience against the harmful impact of misinformation and disinformation

• Holding power to account

• Increase generation and provision of local news content with the aim of extending quality journalism into existing news black holes/news deserts

• Encouraging inclusivity and plurality of voice

• Helping foster shared identity and social cohesion

Ping! runs a news delivery web application for the benefit of the independent hyperlocal news community.

It will improve on the existing state of the art by being the only software tool for publishers to access and pay for content from hyperlocal journalists around the UK.

A History

Ping News is a Community Interest Company (CIC). We operate differently from standard limited companies by focusing exclusively on supporting a specific community. In our case, the independent news sector.

In the summer of 2019, we successfully secured development funding from Google's Digital News Initiative Fund. This funding enabled us to explore ways to better support hyperlocal news providers, ensuring they receive fair compensation for their work that is often used by larger regional and national publications without any financial return.

There was no monetisation system in place to provide quick access to content while ensuring fair payment to hyperlocal news providers across the country. Thus, the Ping! platform was born.

Community reporting is an essential part of the overall news ecosystem but is plagued with challenges. Even a small amount of additional income from work already being produced can be transformative.

We secured funding for the development of Ping! to enable us to offer this innovative technology to the hyperlocal news industry for free. Regional and national publishers pay a monthly subscription fee. This fee is then fairly distributed among all content creators.

For every pound of subscription fee, 60% goes directly to the independent journalists creating the content. It is allocated algorithmically, based on the amount of content and region in which it’s created.

30% of the income is invested back into design and development costs, allowing us to build new features and functionality. This is essential to generate even more revenue for the journalists writing the stories. It also covers general business running costs, platform maintenance, hosting, legals and accounting.

10% is set aside in a reserve fund for the CIC to address emergencies or support the industry in ways not yet anticipated. Some immediate plans for the Ping! platform's development include:

Ping!-Bounties: A system for commissioning stories directly from hyperlocal news providers across the country, rather than sending journalists from London to cover regional stories.

Ping!-Advertising: A shared advertising model that allows ads to be distributed among all hyperlocal publications.

Ping!-Internationalisation: Expanding the platform to address similar challenges internationally by sharing the software with news membership organisations managing hyperlocal news providers worldwide.

Currently, there are no staffing costs, business rental or property-related expenses, or additional outgoings aside from accounting and legal fees. All startup development capital secured from various funding sources, including Google, Meta, and Nesta, has been invested in the development, management, and launch of the platform through Bristol-based Omni Digital, a certified B Corporation dedicated to positive impact projects. Omni Digital played a crucial role in helping us secure multiple rounds of funding.