Who We Are

Launched in February 2021 by Martin Shaw and Steven Downes, Huddersfield Hub is an independent news website providing a fresh, vibrant and positive voice for Huddersfield.

Run by professional and experienced journalists, Huddersfield Hub is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company which operates for the benefit of the local community.

Huddersfield Hub combines quality, added-value journalism with coverage of local news, grassroots sport, business, what’s on, community and charity events, across the Huddersfield area.

Huddersfield Hub is a positive news website with a unique mix of local news and quality journalism.

Our funding model doesn’t rely on clicks for revenue. Instead we are funded through sponsorship, advertising and our Patrons scheme, a £4.99 a month voluntary subscription.

Huddersfield Hub will never put its content behind a paywall nor make any compulsory charge to read our stories. We are a platform for the whole community to share its news and we will remain open and accessible to everyone.

Huddersfield Hub follows the core journalistic principles of independence, accuracy, fairness and impartiality.
We pride ourselves on being like a good local newspaper used to be.

Meet the Editor

Martin Shaw is an experienced and passionate journalist who has worked in Kirklees throughout his 40-year career.

He started out as a trainee journalist aged 18 (working on a typewriter!) and later became a freelance, taking over Huddersfield-based West Riding News & Sports Service.

As a freelance journalist Martin worked for local and national newspapers and covered Huddersfield Town matches for 25 years.

Martin ran his own newspaper for several years in the early 2000s before joining the Huddersfield Daily Examiner in 2012.

He became assistant news editor, news editor and then print content editor before leaving the Examiner in August 2020.

He returned to freelancing before setting up Huddersfield Hub with fellow journalist Steven Downes in early 2021.

After four decades in journalism Martin’s as passionate and committed as ever and his ambition now is to try and find a sustainable business model to support traditional local journalism, something which has so far eluded legacy media companies.