Grasping the opportunity of Scotland’s renewable revolution
"Scotland is in the throes of a massive expansion of onshore renewables. But the level of community-owned onshore wind is way behind the Scottish Government's targets"
In this week’s newsletter:
Sharing stories of Scotland’s anti-war activism and peace campaigning
Across Scotland there has been an increase in the number of children needing foster care at the same time as a fall in the number of foster carers
The Animal Welfare Bill progresses through the House of Commons on Friday intended to put an end to the import of dogs, cats and ferrets
Two proposed wind farms in Yell now have a grid connection date – but it is only scheduled for late 2032
The introduction of ‘7-7-7’ bus lanes – ones open from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week – across the capital since 2015 has been delayed for the seventh year in a row
All that and more 🗞️
Including more stories from our partners and elsewhere in local news!
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Latest from our website
Grasping the opportunity of Scotland’s renewable revolution
Scotland is in the throes of a massive expansion of onshore renewables. But the level of community-owned onshore wind is way behind…
Big payment increase agreed for foster carers in Inverclyde to attract Scots to the role
Across Scotland there has been an increase in the number of children needing foster care at the same time as a fall in the number of foster carers…
Sharing Scotland’s stories of anti-war activism and peace campaigning
A professor of Glasgow University is in Orkney looking to collect the stories of those who have seen active service and those who have been involved in peace activism…
More news from our partners
Shetland News: Two proposed wind farms in Yell now have a grid connection date – but it is only scheduled for late 2032
The Edinburgh Reporter: The Animal Welfare Bill progresses through the House of Commons on Friday intended to put an end to the import of dogs, cats and ferrets
The Lochside Press: The takeover of Rhu’s Ardenconnel Woods from Luss Estates by Rhu and Shandon Community Trust on behalf of the community has taken major steps
Midlothian View: The introduction of ‘7-7-7’ bus lanes – ones open from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week – across the capital since 2015 has been delayed for the seventh year
The Bellman: Stagecoach confirms timetable and route updates across North Scotland
Kyle Chronicle: Environmental group based in the highlands, Planet Sutherland, offer their tips for this summer, including water-saving measures, in the latest issue
Migrant Women Press: Inside Pass the Mic 2025—MWP write about when women of colour took the mic in Scotland this June
Greater Govanhill: “Still a Fantastic Place”—Remembering and reimagining Govanhill’s high streets
Glenkens Gazette: Loch Ken Trust are launching the Glenkens Community Cardiac Responders Group, in association with the Scottish Ambulance Service
Elsewhere in local news…
Public Interest News Foundation launches new co-creational media toolkit
The news industry is in crisis, with trust in traditional media at historic lows and many audiences struggling to tell truth from misinformation. According to the recent Reuters Digital News Report 2025, in the UK, just 35% of people say they trust most news most of the time.
This breakdown in the public’s relationship with the media is driven not only by digital disruption but also by years of underrepresentation and exclusion. For many communities, the media doesn’t reflect their realities – making top-down efforts like media literacy feel disconnected or even patronising.
In response, the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) is launching a new Co-Creational News Media toolkit on 9 July at the British Academy in London.
The event will feature a panel of speakers including Rhiannon Davies, founder of Greater Govanhill and The Scottish Beacon, who will speak about her experience developing co-creational journalism in Scotland. This model puts communities at the heart of news production, shifting the focus from reporting on people to working with them. The toolkit is designed to help journalists and news organisations embed these values into their work and rethink how public interest media is made.
Highland News and Media group buys the Shetland Times
The Shetland Times, Shetland’s only weekly newspaper, has been sold to Highland News and Media, ending 131 years of independent family ownership. The sale follows financial pressures and a decision to halt printing locally, prompting fears the paper might close. It will now be printed on the Scottish mainland in a smaller, full-colour format. While the acquisition secures a number of jobs, it also marks a shift away from local control and production.
The sale reflects wider difficulties facing print journalism, including declining sales, reduced advertising revenue. The Shetland Times had warned that closure would harm local coverage and employment. Although the paper will continue for now, the situation has renewed calls for more structured support for public interest journalism in Scotland, including funding for a long-proposed journalism institute.
Urgent bid lodged with UK regulator to stop Google AI Overviews ‘stealing journalism’
The Press Gazette’s Charlotte Tobitt reports Google is accused of causing "serious irreparable harm" to the UK news industry in a legal complaint submitted to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over the impact of Google AI Overviews on news publishers.
The complaint, submitted by tech justice non-profit Foxglove, the Independent Publishers Alliance and the campaign group Movement for an Open Web, is asking the CMA to implement measures which would prevent Google from “misusing” publisher content in AI-generated responses.
The concern is Google’s AI feature embedded into the search engine, which uses news articles from publishers to provide answers, is stealing the attention of readers by offering up condensed versions of news stories above links to the actual articles themselves. The hope is the complaint will lead to system change, giving publishers greater control of how their content appears online.
The Power Shift Project
Alongside our publishing partners, we have been collaboratively investigating Scotland’s green energy boom for our latest project – The Power Shift.
To keep up-to-date with all the latest from The Power Shift project, visit our dedicated project page: 🔋 scottishbeacon.com/project/the-power-shift 🔋