# Future of news is local, says Culture Secretary, as she launches the first action plan to back local news in a generation
> For example, new tools and software - such as adtech, apps or better website architecture - could help local media tap into new or younger audiences and revenue streams...
Wait, the government is spending £12m of taxpayer money to help news sites fund *adtech*?!
I'd happily pay ~£10/month for a local news website, which:
- has informative, not clickbait, headlines
- was ad-free (a classifieds section is fine)
- does not require an app, and works well in all browsers including text mode browsers
- has full text RSS
Our local news site is none of these.
My small town actually had one for a couple of years. One sole proprietor. It had plenty of ads, but he put the time in. Also, none of the ads came from google - they were all local businesses. If I wondered what all the cop cars were doing somewhere, I could read the answer there within an hour or two. Council news - everything. Well moderated comments.
I don't know why he quit.
Now my town only has one newspaper and it only comes out once a week. It's basically little more than a flyer-wrapper.
In my province of BC in Canada, one man owns the majority (all?) the newspapers outside of Vancouver. And both of Vancouver's major dailies are owned by one different company.
The game of Monopoly only has one ending and we're living it, from newspapers to hard drives.
Neil Brown
Kermode