Advertising and sponsorship
Pulse is built to serve local communities. That work takes time, travel, and stubbornness. It also takes money.
Right now, we do not run regular advertising. We’re building the platform and proving the work first. But we do want to work with local businesses and organisations who value proper local reporting and want to reach the people who actually live here.
If you want to support this kind of journalism, get in touch.
Why we’re open to sponsorship
Local news is full of polite copy-and-paste reporting because it’s cheap. We’re trying to do the opposite: verify facts, ask direct questions, and cover the issues that affect ordinary people, even when it makes institutions uncomfortable.
Sponsorship helps fund that work while keeping it free to read.
What sponsorship would look like
If we bring in advertising or sponsorship, it will be simple and transparent. That could mean a clearly labelled banner placement, a sponsored slot on a newsletter, a sponsored section such as “What’s on”, or paid event listings that are clearly marked as paid.
If we ever publish sponsored articles or partner content, it will be labelled at the top so readers can tell instantly what is editorial and what is paid placement.
What sponsorship will never buy
Sponsorship does not buy influence over our journalism. We do not sell news coverage. We do not trade stories for money, access, or favours. No sponsor gets to preview, approve, edit, or veto reporting. If we cover a sponsor in a news context, we cover them on the facts like anyone else.
This boundary is non-negotiable because it’s the only reason readers would trust us.
Standards and labelling
Any paid placement will be clearly labelled with plain wording such as “Advertisement” or “Sponsored”. We won’t disguise advertising as news reporting, and we won’t publish paid material that impersonates a news story.
Event listings and guides may appear as part of normal coverage. If a listing is paid-for or promoted, it will be labelled. Paid listings do not determine our independent editorial picks.
What we won’t accept
If and when we accept advertising, we will refuse anything that is illegal, deceptive, or designed to mislead readers. That includes scams, fake “investment” schemes, impersonation of public bodies or news organisations, and advertising that tries to exploit fear or confusion.
We will also refuse advertising that promotes hatred, harassment, or violence, and we will not run sexually explicit advertising where minors could reasonably see it. If political advertising is ever accepted, it must be clearly labelled, attributable to a named organisation or person, and verifiable. We reserve the right to refuse it entirely.
Keeping the site readable
If we introduce ads, we’ll keep the experience reasonable. No ugly page takeovers. No bait-and-switch layouts that make the site unusable. Readers come first, because without them there’s nothing to sponsor.
Want to support Pulse?
If you’re a local business, venue, employer, charity, organiser, or service provider and you want to back local journalism while getting in front of local readers, email editorial@pulselocal.co.uk.
Tell us what you do, what area you serve, what you want to promote, and roughly what budget you have in mind. If you don’t know your budget, say that. We can keep it simple.