Mill Media proved that audiences would pay for local news

My newsleter: https://thelongstory.substack.com/

When the Manchester Mill launched in 2020, it operated on a simple theory: that local audiences would pay for news as long as it was original and differentiated. It quickly proved that model out and was able to hire its first full-time employee within a matter of months. From there, founder Joshi Herrmann decided to replicate this model across other cities in the UK, and Mill Media now runs six publications that have collectively generated tens of thousands of paid subscribers.

In a recent interview, Joshi discussed why he first got interested in local news, how he decided to expand to different cities, and whether he thinks his model can be replicated by other local news startups.