Today, as we launch our annual Journalism Matters campaign to celebrate the vital importance of trusted journalism to society and community, the main investors in news in the UK have come together in an unprecedented joint call to the prime minister to create the right conditions for trusted news and information to flourish.
We are at a crossroads – down one path is a world where the public can easily access trusted information from a variety of strong, plural sources across a rich and diverse array of platforms, both on and offline. Another, much darker, road leads to an information ecosystem where fact and fiction cannot be distinguished and we are overwhelmed by a torrent of mis and disinformation.
I am delighted to join forces with senior colleagues from the BBC, ITN, and Sky News today and hope that Sir Keir Starmer heeds our call to act decisively on the urgent issues of AI and digital competition which are existential for news providers. The need for action is more pressing than ever, as AI threatens to replace trusted news sources with distorted and inaccurate information. AI presents some wonderful opportunities for journalism, but we need to tackle the profound challenges it has created before these benefits can be realised.
While the government must act, by nature legislation and regulation moves slowly – faced with a rapidly evolving market and technology advancing at breathtaking speed, the onus must also be on AI developers and global tech giants to act ethically to ensure AI enhances, rather than undermines, society and human creativity.
Another area where government can do much more to support our sector is local journalism. Local news media is a key source of original news and information, sourced, checked and published by local journalists. This service cannot be replicated by an algorithm or bot – at its heart, it is a profoundly human endeavour.
We know the public value this service immensely – local news media enjoys huge audiences, some 42 million people a month in print and digital. And, when a dreadful and traumatic event like the Manchester synagogue attack happens, we see the vital role of the local media in helping the community respond and heal.
But in order for the sector to thrive, ministers must consider the needs of local communities and the local news titles which serve them with much more care than they have done to date.
The threat to remove the legal requirement for alcohol licensing notices – announcements about plans to open a new pub or bar for example – to be published in local papers would be a hammer blow to transparency in local communities.
Such a move would, at a stroke, mean alcohol licensing applications could be granted in secret, an attack on local democracy which would deliver no benefit to either the pubs or the local papers the government claims it is trying to help. Today, daily regional titles have spoken with one voice to call on ministers to keep these important announcements in local papers.
Despite these challenges, I am optimistic about the future of our brilliant sector which does so much good for our democracy. We only need to look at the brilliant array of campaigns and scoops highlighted in the Making a Difference showcase to see the extraordinary work being undertaken by our journalists on a daily and weekly basis.
As the world we live in becomes more uncertain and unstable, we will need trusted sources of news and information more than ever before. Our trusted and plural news brands are there to do this job – to cut through the noise, act as your eyes and ears, and tell you what matters when you need to know it.
Ministers say they understand that journalism matters and want to help us do what we do best. But, so far, they have not matched these words with actions. They must do much more to deliver on their promises, so that journalism – trusted news and information – can not only survive but thrive.
