on media


Papers, paywalls and police: good news at last


Government support for local media among key developments, says Raymond Snoddy


I


t’s not often that the news about local media, and local newspapers in particular, is good.


In recent years, the outlook for local papers has appeared depressingly bleak. In the past 20 years, nearly 300 have closed – 22 in the past four years. And that is not the whole story. Among the survivors, costs have been ruthlessly cut, thousands of jobs lost and newsrooms hollowed out. As culture secretary Lisa Nandy noted


at the Society of Editors’ (SoE) annual conference in March, there are now news deserts across the country where millions of people have no dedicated local news provider of any kind. Nandy had, perhaps unsurprisingly,


warm words for the importance of local media as a key part of the civic realm – a contributor that had been neglected for far too long. Yes indeed, but words come cheap


and, year after year, politicians turn up at such conferences pledging undying devotion to freedom of the press but then go away again without doing anything before repeating similar platitudes next time. This time Nandy came bearing gifts,


including the creation of a £12 million fund spread over two years to which local newspapers and media organisations can apply for grants. While some of the money will be to


help with financial survival, most will be focused on funding digital transition and transformation and finding new ways of reaching audiences. There will be more support for community radio and greater opportunities for young


people to pursue careers in local media – the traditional first step on the media career ladder that has dried up in recent years. Cynics will argue it is too little too


late and that it will barely nibble at the edge of an enormous problem. But at least it’s a start and let’s see


how it works out. We must also take the culture secretary at her word when she promises that this is only a beginning. “The strategy we publish today is the start – not the end point – and we recognise there is more to do,” Nandy said at the SoE conference. Her feet should be held to the fire on that – in particular, the government has in future to be much tougher on the tech billionaires. It’s not just action to protect young people from the addictive nature of smartphone algorithms, important although it is. Much larger sums than £12 million


over two years must be extracted from the social media platforms, their profits and their owners to help fund local media.


After all, they have been responsible more than anyone else for the creation of local news deserts – which, as Nandy acknowledged, have undermined both social cohesion and local democracy. By a coincidence of timing, there was further good news for the media, including local news organisations, at the SoE conference, this time good news of their own making. A comprehensive agreement was announced between journalists and the police, including a detailed charter governing their future relationship. Year after year at the SoE conferences, there had been sessions complaining about the ‘broken’ relationship between the two sides, which made reporting crime and the court system very difficult.


This dates back to the Leveson inquiry. Normal journalist-police relations came virtually to an end. Police had to report back on any contact with journalists – as when dealing with criminals. Police press officers thought they didn’t need the media any more and dumped information online. Matters came to a head in 2023 over the disappearance of Nicola Bulley. Local police provided little information and the vacuum was filled by wild internet conspiracy theories. Everyone agreed that something had to be done. No fewer than 24 recommendations were drawn up by crime reporters and all have been accepted by the College of Policing and the Crown Prosecution Service. Background briefings are back for


“


accredited journalists where possible on major stories and officers of any rank can speak to the media. The new charter says all forces should be prepared to respond to journalists’ enquiries and emailed press releases should go to journalists rather than simply being issued online. Mugshots will be provided of those who receive custodial sentences. We’ll see how it works in practice, but senior officers see the charter as a major resetting of relations with the media and certainly it’s progress on an important source of local stories. There was even good financial news


Police provided little information and the vacuum was filled by wild conspiracy theories. Everyone agreed something had to be done


about the impact of paywalls, delivered when Times editor Tony Gallagher was made a fellow of the SoE. Gallagher, who also edited The Sun and the Daily Telegraph, revealed that, by the end of last year, The Times had 659,000 digital subscribers – a rise of 7 per cent on the previous year. It was enough on its own to fund the 700-strong news rooms of The Times and The Sunday Times.


theJournalist |09


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28