Journalism.co.uk Editors' Blog » local media

Darlington Councillor: Council newspapers and a ‘one-eyed’ local press

Laura Oliver — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:59:21 +0000

Labour councillor for Haughton West, Nick Wallis, responds to comments made by Northern Echo editor Peter Barron about the impact of council newspapers on the local press.

Wallis says he isn’t sure council budget cutting will inevitably lead to the closure of local authority publications (much criticised by the local media for their impact on advertising revenues and local democratic coverage).

“A key point is that a lot of local newspapers, do not operate like the Echo which is broadly fair in its treatment of news stories. It’s a bum rap if whatever you do, no matter how well, the local paper slags you off as ‘loony left’ because of the general political bias of the media group. It’s precisely the one-eyed nature of a lot of the local press that generated the growth of council magazines, because local authorities wanted to talk directly to their residents, and avoid the hostile spin continually imposed by media,” writes Wallis.

However, he later adds that councils should do more to support local media and encourage a ’strong, independent local press’.

“At the same time, local papers have to accept that councils have the right to communicate directly with their residents, and not always have to have their news reflected through the prism of the paper,” he says.

Full post at this link…

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Nutshell.org.uk: A new directory for local blogs

Laura Oliver — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:58:49 +0000

Following on from plans to map and identify ultralocal UK blogs and websites, Matt Wardman has started a new directory for local blogs, Nutshell.

It will feature:

Sites focused on a defined and identified area or community.
Sites edited and controlled from within that area or community.
Sites which are editorially independent.

For more information or to submit a blog visit Nutshell.org.uk.

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Recovering Journalist: Growthspur – supporting local media entrepreneurs

Laura Oliver — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:21:55 +0000

Mark Potts, founder of hyperlocal venture Backfence, discusses his latest venture: Growthspur, a new company aimed at finding new business models to support local news and information sources.

Jeff Jarvis helped develop the concept and Potts also has former Microsoft executive Dave Chase and co-founder of the Yale Entreprenuerial Insititute, Jennifer McFadden, on board.

Full post at this link…

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Mashable: Local accounting for 74 per cent of advertising revenue on Facebook, says report

Laura Oliver — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:30:21 +0000

According to a new report from Borrell Associates, local advertisers and businesses will make up 74 per cent of Facebook’s ad revenue this year – around $229 million.

Mashable points out that Facebook makes geographic targeting of ads particularly easy. But the proportion is significantly higher than the amount of revenue from local advertisers expected for MySpace and Twitter.

Full story at this link…

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The NUJ’s economic stimulus plan for local journalism – can it work?

Laura Oliver — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:17:05 +0000

With Andy Burnham’s still-warm seat now occupied by former BBC journalist Ben Bradshaw, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has wasted no time in sending an open letter to the new culture minister with an ‘economic stimulus plan for local media’.

The eight-point plan:

Reform of cross-media ownership rules with a strengthened public interest test;
Hard and fast commitment to ring-fence licence fee funding for the BBC;
A levy introduced on commercial operators who benefit from quality public service content – including local news – but do not contribute to its production;
Tax breaks for local media who meet clearly defined public purposes;
Tax credits for individuals who buy quality media;
Direct support to help establish new genuinely local media organisations;
Strategic use of central and local government advertising;
Support for training opportunities that open access to journalism.

The full plan can be downloaded at this link.

Some initial thoughts (please get in touch with any of your reactions, either below or in an email to laura@journalism.co.uk):

How will ‘quality’ content be defined for points three and five?
There’s a long-running union battle against council-run newspapers, which point seven clearly addresses
Licence fee funding – is the BBC friend or foe to local media? Newspaper groups decried the BBC’s local video project and often criticise the ’special way’ in which the corporation is funded; how will the union’s suggestion sit with them?

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Times Online: Google shows support for local newspaper mergers

Laura Oliver — Tue, 19 May 2009 08:16:39 +0000

The search engine giant will today make the case that regional newspaper publishers should be allowed to merger, because of the impact of Google and other internet companies, in its submission to the Office of Fair Trading’s review of the existing newspaper merger structure.

Full article at this link…

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BBC News/Flickr: The week in newspaper billboards

Laura Oliver — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:06:56 +0000

(hat tip to @johncthompson for this one) The BBC has asked its audience to send in pictures of local newspaper billboards to show ‘a week in local news’.

The results can be seen in this Flickr group. Favourite billboard so far: ‘Jilted lover kills ex’s fish’.

Full story at this link…

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NUJ Release: Over 70 MPs sign motion on local media cutbacks

Judith Townend — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:13:55 +0000

“With a week to go until the NUJ’s parlimentary lobby over local media cutbacks, more than seventy UK MPs have signed a motion on the issue,” the National Union of Journalists reports.

“The parliamentary petition regrets job cuts at profitable local media and calls on the government to give state support only in return for guarantees on investment in journalism,” the release continues.

Full release at this link…

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Jon Slattery: UK regional press crisis: interviews with an ex-editor, reporter and manager

Laura Oliver — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:30:14 +0000

Following his piece on the regional press on MediaGuardian.co.uk, Jon Slattery has published a series of full interviews with industry representatives from the UK’s regional press.

Speaking about the impact of job losses on journalists, an ex-editor says:

“There’s simply nothing out there. Six weeks ago they were an editor, a man of significant substance in their community; today they’re signing on.”

Full post at this link…

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Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – local media maps

Laura Oliver — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:25:33 +0000

Local media: Looking for local bloggers and independent news sites in your area? Try Justin William's Google map of local news sites. Tipster: Laura Oliver. To submit a tip to Journalism.co.uk, use this link - we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.