OVER the last month, local newspapers across the UK, including the Worcester News, have come together to champion their highly-trusted credentials and ability to make a difference

Through the Local Newspaper Week (LNW) and Fighting Fake News (FFN) campaigns, local papers up and down the country have highlighted the vital importance of local journalism and the investment and expertise required to produce it.

Organised by the News Media Association’s local marketing arm Local Media Works, the campaigns have shown how journalism produced by news media publishers upholds and strengthens democracy whereas fake news spread via social networks subverts and undermines it.

And this becomes even more important in the context of the general election on June 8.

Last week, the industry held a Trusted News Day which saw newsrooms open up to their readers and invite them to participate in the local newsgathering and distribution process.

Initiatives included live streamed news conferences, Q and A sessions with readers, online quizzes, and competitions to pick the best headlines for stories.

The aim was to give a flavour of how local news is produced.

Where a story starts and how it is developed, the decisions that have to be made when deciding what to run, and the rigorous checks and balances that are required to produce highly trustworthy news content.

The interest that Trusted News Day provoked was astonishing. Local papers across the country were deluged with input from readers all keen to participate and engage with their local paper in a new way.

The hashtag #TrustedNewsDay trended on Twitter for more than six hours, further illustrating the considerable momentum behind this initiative.

It was a fascinating experience for us, the producers of local news, and we hope it was equally so for you, our readers and advertisers.

Last week was Local Newspaper Week and, through Making a Difference, local newspapers turned their attention to the role of campaigning local journalism in our communities.

Making a Difference has shown that local papers take up and fight an extraordinarily broad range of causes for on behalf of their readers.

Over the past year, local papers have exposed serious wrongdoing in care services, fought to improve transport links, successfully opposed cuts to police services, highlighted the plight of those suffering from mental illness, and raised money for children with serious medical conditions.

The common theme of all these campaigns is that they all have clear and tangible civic benefits. And, without local papers, those benefits would be lost.

The local newspaper industry is facing a series of challenges, from the draconian proposals to regulate the industry’s editorial content which would cripple local papers, to the siphoning off our advertising revenues by the tech giants who invest next to nothing in local news production yet profit from its distribution.

These challenges are serious and it is vital that we respond with campaigns highlighting our highly-trusted credentials like the ones you have seen in these pages over the last few weeks.

But what matters most of all is the support of you, our readers and advertisers.

Your continued support and engagement will ensure that local papers have a long and bright future.

With your support, we can continue to champion the causes that matter to you, ask the questions you want answers to, and publish the trusted news and information which you want to read.

So, at the end of this year’s Local Newspaper Week, all that remains is for us, your local newspaper, to offer a huge thank you to you, our readers and advertisers, for your continued support, and to wish you all the very best for the future.