Quarterly magazine and website Positive News will will see its stories shared on digital advertising screens across the UK over the coming months.
Clear Channel UK donated £20m worth of media space to 50 charities last year and this is the first time it has worked with a publisher in this way.
Positive News shares socially relevant positive stories with the intention of spreading uplifting news ranging from progress in cancer treatments to investment in renewable energy.
The Reuters Institute published research in 2022, underlining how 46% of people in the UK selectively avoid news, with many saying news negatively effects their mood.
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The proportion of people selectively avoiding news almost doubled from 2017 to 2022 in the UK.
The brand, which launched in 2016, has a free website and paid-for quarterly magazine which now boasts 10,000 subscribers. It also has a supporter scheme which is similar to The Guardian model whereby readers pay to keep the website free for all.
Magazine subscribers pay £30 per year for four issues and 88% are UK-based.
Positive News does not carry traditional advertising but it has a numberof native content deals with paid brand partners.
Positive News CEO Sean Wood told Press Gazette: “As a small, independent media organisation, we’re excited by this opportunity to have our headlines in the public space at this scale.
“It’s now not a case of people proactively ‘hunting down’ our journalism which is how we get most of our audience growth at the moment because our marketing budgets are so small.”
He added: “We’re really hoping that this will not only raise brand awareness for us, but also have an impact at the community level in terms of improving people’s perspectives, mental health and sense of agency.”
Up until the end of March, Positive News stories will be shared in public spaces on Clear Channel UK’s 3,500 advertising boards.
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