A pioneering local news chief has called on the government to reform the rules on public notices to help save small online publishers.

As reported on HTFP on Friday, Rochdale Online – believed to be the UK’s second oldest hyperlocal news website – has gone under after 27 years.

The site – launched in June 1998 – has ceased publication after reportedly struggling to attract sufficient advertising revenue.

But its demise has led to calls from Mill Media chief Joshi Herrmann for some of the £60m a year revenue from public notices to be directed to hyperlocal publishers rather than big corporates.

Joshi, pictured, who founded the Manchester Mill and then grew the business to cover five other major cities, said that if even 10pc of that revenue went to small outlets it would be “transformative.”

He argued that rules governing the placement of public notices in print titles were now outdated having originally been made in 1881 in a piece of legislation called the Newspaper and Libel Registration Act.

Writing on X, Joshi said: “This is so sad. Rochdale Online did an important job in a town where the local media has collapsed. We need to reform public notice rules ASAP.

Tagging culture secretary Lisa Nandy in the thread, he added: “Why is all this public money – £60m a year – going to the corporate news groups while independent local sites hit the wall?

“Reforming this Victorian rule so that these important public notices can run on highly engaged sites like Rochdale Online would be absolutely transformative for saving local news. And it would cost nothing. Zero new public money.

“If just 10pc of public notices were run in independent local sites and papers – where they would get seen by WAY more people, btw – that would inject £6m into local news and would allow hundreds of sites to survive and grow. Make it happen @lisanandy.”

According to a post on Rochdale Online, an insolvency practitioner has been appointed to oversee the liquidation process and the site will no longer be updated.

The site was originally set up by Malcolm Journeaux and his wife Pauline. In recent years it has been run by Pauline’s daughter, Claire Flett.