Mr Jeakings wrote to Mr Clegg, after remarks the deputy prime minister made at the Liberal Democrats' recent Brighton conference, when he questioned the future viability of newspapers and said falling circulation figures had led to the industry acting like “desperate animals around a disappearing waterhole” and called for the Government to accept the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry, even if that meant a statutory framework for press regulation.
In his letter to the DPM, Mr Jeakings wrote: “As businesses, we are resilient, innovative and committed to the highest standards of local journalism. Despite what you say, I am quite sure that we will continue to fulfil our unique vital role for the local communities we serve for many years to come. We will also continue to do that free of any direct public subsidy and will fiercely defend the independence of the UK press as a whole from any form of political or statutory controls.”
In a wide-ranging interview with Eastern Daily Press public affairs correspondent Dan Grimmer, Mr Clegg said yesterday (October 9) that those remarks were aimed at the national press and praised the work of newspapers such as the Archant Norfolk’s EDP.
He said: “You do a phenomenal job. The trust that people have in their local newspapers and the local radio stations, for instance, is considerably higher than the trust they have in national newspapers and dare I say it, national politicians, as well.
“Why? Well, for very good reason, because you are writing day in, day out, about the things which really affect people - their local community. Jobs in their local community, ambulance services in the local community, support for local pubs, local post offices.
“These are actually the things which, quite rightly, people often care about more than some of the big national and international debates we might have in Westminster.
“The point I was making was simply that speak to any newspaper proprietor and they will tell you there’s just a general dilemma that the newspaper industry faces which is that as more people get their news online, there’s a whole issue as to how do newspapers keep their readership.
“I think every national newspaper is on a downward trend in terms of readership, so what I was alluding to was the danger that some national newspapers, as they become ever more anxious to holding onto a diminishing pool of readers, sometimes might be tempted to lash out a bit, to try to create a bit of noise and drama in order to attract some attention to themselves.”
Mr Clegg also lent his backing to the EDP Ambulance Watch campaign and urged readers to share their experiences of the service to create the ‘fullest possible picture’ of the problems in Norfolk.
The Liberal Democrat leader described the campaign as an example of exactly the sort of issue local newspapers should be tackling, during a visit to Norfolk yesterday.
The EDP recently launched Ambulance Watch, which includes a survey into the service provided by the East of England Ambulance Service Trust.
The campaign comes following worrying reports of delays in getting crews to the scene of incidents. The paper is asking what has been going wrong and how can it be put right.
Pictured above is Nick Clegg being interviewed by the EDP’s Dan Grimmer.
