UK: The future of regional papers to be discussed in Parliament

Posted by Christie Silk on June 12, 2009 at 12:05 PM

Parliament will next Tuesday witness the testimonies of the chiefs of four regional newspaper publishers, as they deliver their views on the condition of the British local media. The issue will be slanted towards the financial situation.

The meeting will unite the Culture, Media and Sport select committee and the regional representatives, who have been named as Carolyn McCall from Guardian Media Group, Sly Bailey from Trinity Mirror, Johnston Press chief executive John Fry and Christopher Thomson from DC Thomson. Also present will be Claire Enders, the founder of media research firm Enders Analysis.

The discussion forms part of the government's ongoing study into the state of local and regional reporting, as the future of the industry is rendered uncertain by the waves of staff and resource cut backs. The figures paint a bleak picture: more than 1000 regional journalists have reportedly lost their jobs since last summer and the numbers of deceased regional papers have reached double figures.

To provide a governmental critique and potential solutions, the committee launched an investigation last March. The remit of the study is as wide, in recognition of the complexity of the situation. The examination will analyse how the standards of local journalism have been affected by the disappearance of regional papers, but also the impact of the rise of competitive online information providers such as search engines, news aggregators. To placate a heated industry debate, the threats to the regional presented by council run papers, a relatively recent phenomenon, will also be analysed. Additionally, the investigation will consider alternative models of regional news provision, such as hyper-local forms and the financing of quality journalism.

The new culture secretary, Ben Bradshaw, a former journalist, has had an immediate reminder of the plight of his former profession. He is under strong pressure from the National Union of Journalists to support their specific plan in the campaign to reinvigorate local journalism. Bradshaw expressed his respect for the role played by the local news industry in front of fellow MPs earlier in the week;

"Members in all parts of the house recognise and value the role played by regional and local newspapers not only in informing the public in their local areas, but in holding us and locally elected officials to account...It would be very sad to see the demise of local and regional newspapers."

Source: Press Gazette