A journalist is planning to set up a not-for-profit newspaper aimed at communities who feel ‘ignored’ by their local news media.

David Ainsworth, a journalist with Third Sector magazine, said he believed it will be the first local newspaper in the country to be run as a charity.

He said the plans were in the very early stages but the London-based newspaper would be aimed at communities who do not feel they are served by their existing local paper.

The government will this month be asked by journalists and academics to make it easier for charitable trusts and foundations to fund not-for-profit local newspapers.

Said David: “I got together with a couple of colleagues and people working with a charity, we started to put together a plan of how we could make a not-for-profit local newspaper.

“We started to look at the idea of whether we could set one up as a charity. Local newspapers are suffering with traditional sources of income falling.”

He said the model used would be similar to that used when communities have shares in local shops.

“We are looking for community groups who feel that they don’t have good local newspapers in their areas,’ he added.

“It would look a lot like a traditional newspaper with contributions from local people. There are three of us working on the concept but we have had a lot of external support. People are interested in business support and are a lot of people are quite excited.”

The group originally looked at getting funding from Lambeth Council which was outsourcing its advertising following the closure of its council newspaper but it went to a South London newspaper.

Representatives from trusts and foundations, charities and newspapers will meet officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport later this month to discuss the issue of funding not-for-profit titles.

Anyone interested in getting involved with the proposed newspaper should email [email protected].