As reported by the Newspaper Society: At a Westminster Hall debate on regional newspapers on Wednesday, MPs spoke of the benefit to communities provided by local papers through their campaigning and the increased use of digital technology in reporting.
The debate was called by Andrew Griffiths, MP for Burton, who said the government should look at what it could do to help local newspapers in the face of the economic downturn, citing council newspapers and public notices as examples which the Government could look at.
Addressing Ed Vaizey, parliamentary under secretary for the creative industries, Mr Griffiths said: “I urge him to look at what he can do to get a council of war together with other departments. Let us look at what we can do with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Cabinet Office, in relation to the Big Society, and at what we are doing with departments such as the Department for Transport.
“Let us get all those departments together and see how we can maximise the benefit of our local newspapers."
He added that “there are ways in which the Government can do more to support, rather than subsidise, our local newspapers. We have to look innovatively at how we can channel Government activity and use our local newspapers to their benefit and that of Government.”
His call was backed by Glyn Davies, Montgomeryshire MP, who spoke of Powys County Council’s communications. “Almost nobody looks at the stuff the council puts out; it is very professional and very good, but it does not actually deliver what people want, and the same may apply to information campaigns by the national government. We need inventive ways of transferring that spend so that it supports local newspapers,” he said.
Austin Mitchell, Great Grimsby MP, added: “I congratulate Andrew Griffiths and agree wholeheartedly not only with what he said but with the solutions that he suggested. It is a question not of subsidy but of support and of channelling effort into local newspapers.
“The local press is vital to all of us. It is our means of communication with our constituents and our way of finding out what goes on in the world. We cannot have a big enough office staff to tell us everything that is going on in Grimsby or Rochdale. We need the local press, and it is central to local democracy.”
Mr Vaizey responded: “The Government will consider how they can help, but I hasten to add that there is no prospect of our writing cheques for local newspapers, and that is not something that local newspapers would want in the first place.
“The debate has encapsulated the fact that all hon. Members are passionate about their local papers. They recognise their place in the local community and in our local democracy.”
At the debate, MPs spoke of the benefits of local papers through their campaigning activities and their increasing use of digital technology in reporting as well as the Leveson report.
Referring to Leveson, Mr Davies said: “Most of us would agree that it has very little relevance to local newspapers, but there is massive concern about what bureaucracy it might deliver to those organisations.
“Many local newspapers are close to the brink in their financial liability. We will have to be very careful about any great increase in the bureaucracy that is needed to comply with new rules and regulations that apply to national newspapers. Great damage could be caused in our attempt to do good.”
Rehman Chishti, Gillingham and Rainham MP added: “He [Leveson] said that the contribution of regional newspapers to local life is “truly without parallel”.
“In my constituency, we have the Kent Messenger and the Medway Messenger, with circulation of 370,000 a week and 270,000 hits on the internet site, clearly showing how important their contribution is.”
Simon Danczuk, Rochdale MP, said of the Rochdale Observer: “The newspaper is published twice weekly but the website provides breaking news on an hourly basis. It also provides wider reach to people who might not pick up the newspaper.
“As to social media the paper has embraced Twitter exceptionally well. I follow Twitter when I am in Parliament; I follow Chris Jones, one of the local government journalists on the paper, who tweets from the full council meeting, so I can find out instantly what is going on there.
“Deborah Linton, a journalist on the Manchester Evening News is tweeting about the autumn statement to the people of Greater Manchester—taking politics out to people so that they can follow it and see what is going on.”
Julie Elliott, Sunderland Central MP, spoke of the Sunderland Echo’s successful campaigns to secure funding to provide ongoing support for the Durham miners’ gala and to secure a children’s hospice.
The debate was chaired by Jimmy Hood, MP for Lanark and Hamilton East.
