Over the past few months, the Bedford Independent has been exploring how journalism works and why that matters. Through our Media Literacy Project, we’ve opened the curtain on how stories are sourced, written, edited, and held to account.
We’ve explained our decision-making process, outlined our standards, and highlighted what distinguishes professional journalism from opinion, hearsay, or clickbait.
This final article brings all of that work together, explaining why we started the project, what we’ve covered, and what’s next.
Fittingly, this series has been completed during Indie News Week 2025, a national campaign celebrating independent journalism and calling for urgent action to protect its future.
Across the UK, independent publishers like ours are facing enormous pressures: big tech platforms prioritising engagement over accuracy, falling ad revenues, and a legislative system that hasn’t kept up with how people consume news.
As the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) puts it, “No news is bad news.” Over four million people in the UK now live in so-called news deserts, where there is no reliable local reporting. And in these gaps, misinformation flourishes.
Sign the petition to support local news providers to regenerate local news
That’s why campaigns like Indie News Week matter. And it’s why projects like ours to support Media Literacy are essential, not just for promoting trusted journalism, but for helping the public understand the difference between actual journalism and everything else.
What the project covered
The Media Literacy Project explored five key themes:
- How journalism works: Including how we decide what makes the news, how bylines and sources are used, and what happens when we get something wrong.
- Media ethics and regulation: Detailing the difference between regulated and unregulated publishers, the role of UK media law, and why corrections and transparency matter.
- Understanding content types: Helping readers distinguish fact-based news from opinion, explainers from editorials, and credible sources from misinformation.
- The role of readers: Demonstrating how the public contributes to journalism through tips, engagement, and trust, and what to do when misinformation appears in your feed.
- Why journalism matters: From grassroots democracy to community cohesion, the series argued that journalism isn’t just a business, it’s a public service that needs support.
Each article was rooted in real-life examples, guided by the Impress Standards Code, and backed by our experience as a regulated local publisher that has published over 10,000 journalism-led articles and serves over 130,000 monthly readers across Bedford Borough.
What we hope it has achieved
We didn’t launch this series to preach or patronise. We launched it because the future of journalism depends on transparency, trust, and understanding. And because many people, through no fault of their own, aren’t always sure what separates good reporting from bad.
We believe that:
- Readers should know who’s behind a story and why it was published.
- People should be able to tell the difference between ethical journalism and biased commentary.
- Everyone deserves access to accurate, balanced and locally relevant news.
In an age of information overload, media literacy gives people the power to filter, question and choose wisely. And in a world where press freedom is under threat, it helps defend journalism that puts truth first.
Table of contents
Here is the complete list of articles in the Media Literacy Project. Each title links directly to the original article for you to explore, revisit or share:
- The evolution of journalism: From print to digital, facts to formats
- Why press regulation matters: How it helps protect trust in journalism
- Why press regulation matters: A guide to how UK journalism is held to account
- Why press regulation matters: Corrections, clarifications and transparency – what happens when we get it wrong
- UK media law: Why journalists can’t always report names, descriptions or case details in crime stories
- The importance of context: Why responsible newsrooms don’t always publish every detail
- What makes the news and what doesn’t? Editorial judgement explained
- Who writes the news? A guide to bylines used by responsible newspapers (and what they tell you)
- Opinion isn’t fact: How responsible journalism separates fact-based news from opinion-based columns
- Who said that? Understanding named and anonymous sources in the news
- Fake news vs real news: How to identify trustworthy journalism
- Fast news, slow truth: Why responsible journalism waits to get it right
- First on the scene: What breaking news is and isn’t meant to do
- Why news is more than a headline: The importance of reading beyond the first line
- Clickbait vs credibility: Why responsible news starts with the headline
- From tip to headline: How the public helps local journalism thrive
- How local journalism supports democracy at a grassroots level
- Why journalists ask tough questions – and why democracy depends on it
- King Charles calls regional press ‘cornerstone of democracy’
- From Kyiv to Bedford: Why local journalism matters
- Think Britain has a free press? Think again
- No reporters, no questions, no accountability: Why news deserts are a threat to our communities
- Support local journalism and help keep trusted news alive
What’s next?
This may be the end of our Media Literacy Project for now, but the work is far from over.
At the Bedford Independent, we’ll continue to publish responsibly, ask difficult questions, and explain the editorial decisions we make, because we know that trust must be earned, not assumed.
We’ll also keep working to help our community tell the difference between journalism and commercial-inspired content, between fact and opinion, and between regulated reporting and unverified rumour.
Media literacy plays a crucial role in helping readers navigate a complex information landscape and in building resilience against misinformation.
But media literacy alone isn’t enough.
As Jonathan Heawood, executive director of the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF), has pointed out, “Media literacy is not the silver bullet to the challenge of media sustainability.”
During a House of Lords inquiry into media literacy in May 2025, Jonathan said there is an enormous positive impact when local newsrooms connect more with their communities. This would help evolve ‘media literacy’ into ‘media engagement’.
“What we are looking for is a virtuous cycle, where local media organisations genuinely go out into their local communities, not to sell their wares or to educate the public on how great they are, but to have a genuine conversation,” he told the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee.
Journalists can then ask key questions, “What are your needs? What do you need us to cover? What stories are not being told? Whose voices are not being heard?’ They develop their product, their news offering, in response to that,” added Jonathan.
Understanding how journalism works is essential, but so is ensuring that trusted journalism can survive to answer these questions in the first place.
That’s why we’ll stand with PINF and our responsible news publishing colleagues in continuing to speak up for fairer funding models, public support for independent news, and stronger protections for journalists doing their job in the public interest.
Because if we want people to trust journalism, we need to make sure it exists.
The Media Literacy Project was our way of opening the door and letting readers see behind the scenes. What happens next, how it’s supported, shared, and sustained, is something we all have a role in shaping.
Where you can learn more
If you’re interested in developing your media literacy further or want to explore how journalism is regulated and supported, here are some trusted organisations that offer helpful resources:
- Impress: The UK’s only officially recognised press regulator.
- IPSO: The largest press regulator in the UK, overseeing many national newspapers.
- Public Interest News Foundation (PINF): The UK’s first charity supporting independent news providers.
- Independent Community News Network (ICNN): A network supporting local independent news publishers.
- The Trust Project: An international consortium promoting transparency in journalism.
- European Journalism Centre: A non-profit supporting innovation and training in journalism.
- Reporters Without Borders: A global watchdog advocating for press freedom.
