Buzzfeed moves into local news by hiring new regional reporters

New regional reporters at Buzzfeed will cover Scotland, Wales and the north of England

Buzzfeed is set to hire four new reporters to cover regions around the UK (AFP/Getty)

Buzzfeed is looking to take on local and regional papers at their own game, by recruiting more regional reporters to cover the north of England, Scotland and Wales.

The ever-growing news and entertainment site is in the process of hiring 14 new staff members, including four reporters who will cover regional beats.

This will see Buzzfeed's news team in the UK increase by around half, growing to 40 people.

Although these reporters will cover wide regions, and won't have the advantage of large teams or detailed local knowledge that local papers have, the news will still worry the beleaguered publishers of local and regional titles.

The BBC made similar move recently, announcing that they would fund 100 local journalists - in a scheme that local publishers called a 'Trojan horse' scheme that would lead to the BBC monopolising local news.

In August, NBC Universal invested $200 million in Buzzfeed - bringing the total value of the company to around $1.5 billion.