A news start up founded by two former regional press colleagues has announced a new investment from Europe’s largest independent news services company.
Urbs Media, which specialises in data journalism, has announced the new tie-up with DMA Media, allowing it to grow its customer base and develop plans for targeted news stories and content marketing.
Urbs is run by Alan Renwick and Gary Rogers, who both cut their teeth at Thomson Regional Newspapers in the 1980s.
Latterly, Alan ran Local World’s Bristol operation while Gary was editor of Channel 5 News.
Alan, pictured above left, said: “We’re delighted to have brought a world class news business on board, not just as a financial investor but with the deep expertise and network they will bring.
“DMA’s involvement will allow us to scale up both our news production resource, and our customer base.”
The new investment will help Urbs, founded just over a year ago, to establish an expanded Bristol data centre as well as a newsroom based in London.
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There’s a much brighter future here than being an ex-LW senior editor with the TM hitmen roaming the newsrooms. Good luck with this, chaps, you deserve it.
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There’s a fabulous start-up called Borders building an excellent model in this neck of the woods. Hope all these types of business grow enough to see off the big boys who so patently care little for their journalists. Then, once again, there will a home for journalism in the regions.
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Independent regional publishing be they micro local newspapers or targeted local lifestyle magazines are certainly the way forward.
With the dying big boy groups all over the place chasing shadows in the hunt for any source of revenue they can get their hands on and having lost sight of their core function,the door is wide open to entrepreneurial ex local media folk with the nous and experience to provide the type of news service the others have let slip.
Good luck and all good wishes to Alan,Gary and all the independents looking to bring the quality and focus back to regional publishing, there’s certainly a market for what you’re doing
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