Tag Archives: Local media

First local TV stations planned by Hunt to be licensed by 2012

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The government outlined its plans for structural reform this week, including a timetable for media reform from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMA).

Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for DCMS, writes in the report that he hopes to “roll back media regulation” in order to “encourage investment and create the conditions for sustainable growth”.

Plans for local media include a relaxation of the rules governing cross-media ownership by November this year and for the first of Hunt’s local TV stations to be licensed by summer 2012, with a target of creating 10 to 20 new stations by the end of parliament.

Actions laid out in the plans include changes to the media regulatory regime by reforming Ofcom and deregulating the broadcasting sector. Measures to scale back Ofcom’s duties are planned as part of a Public Bodies Reform Bill and Communications Bill, with the legislative process set to begin by November 2012.

Hunt also plans to agree the terms of a new licence fee settlement between July 2011 and April 2012.

He said these plans aim to give the public an idea of the programme to follow, but that much “broader ambitions” will be set out in the autumn in a spending review.

See the plans here…

Ed Walker: Council documents tell stories too, not just FOI requests

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Ed Walker looks at the different types of papers and reports released by councils in the UK and how these can lead to news stories. This is a detailed post with advice on how to organise your research and newsgathering, and when to use Freedom of Information requests to deliver more information.

Full post on Ed Walker’s blog at this link…

Manchester Evening News lets football fans take over its masthead

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Much has been written about the positives and negatives of personalised features on news websites, from user profiles to personalised homepages.

For me the Manchester Evening News has got its personalisation priorities right: registered readers can now choose between a blue masthead, designed for Manchester City fans; or keep the site’s traditional red colour theme if you a Manchester United fan.

(NB – for those of you that know my football allegiances please note that logging in as a blue was purely for work purposes)

Scoopland: Alternative NUJ Regional Press Award Winners

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Deputy editor of the Camden New Journal Richard Osley shares his thoughts on prize-worthy regional journalism, following last night’s National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Regional Press Awards.

The News in Portsmouth took four awards at the event yesterday. While congratulating the paper, Osley recommends the Cambridge News, Kent on Sunday, the Argus in Brighton, the South London Press and Birmingham Mail.

Full Scoopland post at this link…

hyperlocal 101: Should journalists edit community correspondents?

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An interesting post for local news journalists and editors in particular on whether reports, articles and posts submitted by “community correspondents” and readers should be substantially edited before publication. Shields Bialasik, who has experience of running a hyperlocal newspaper in the US called LocalsGuide, says he asks for all submissions for sites, such as blogs and hyperlocal sites run by larger news groups, to be ready for publication in terms of format and readability.

(Putting the issue of legal checks to one side for the moment) Bialasik explains why he holds back from editing:

My job as I see it as the owner of the media machine is to deliver the message. Similar to the job of the post office. I deliver the mail, not open it up along the way, change the message and then deliver it.

Yet, if you take some time to think about this you will realise this is exactly what is occurring with practically all mainstream media. Who’s [sic] voice is really being heard, who’s [sic] point of view are we really being convinced of or represented?

Full post at this link…

LGEO Research: Where do local authorities fit in the hyperlocal media landscape?

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Liz Asyan, a pHD student researching local government and citizen engagement online, has reproduced the answers she gave in an interview on Camden Council’s plans for using hyperlocal websites. Asyan is firm in her belief that local authorities using a hyperlocal strategy online will be “unofficial contributors” to the sites, but will leave them alone in the hands of citizens:

I do not see councils as “using” hyperlocal sites because they are not there to interfere nor moderate/own the hyperlocal websites. They hyperlocal websites belong to citizens and they are the “users” of hyperlocal websites. Councils are unofficial contributors to useful information that can help citizens within that particular area. So you can view councils as being just another member of that community sitting side-by-side with citizens, reaching out on citizens level without any barriers or judgements. This type of engagement will hopefully break down the barriers or walls that currently exist between councils and citizens and increase citizens trust towards local authorities.

Interesting to consider how such hyperlocal projects by local authorities will change the local media landscape and potentially their role as community media and publishers.

Full post at this link…

Jeremy Hunt: No local TV is one of biggest gaps in British broadcasting

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In his inaugural speech on the media and digital economy yesterday, new Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt tied his colours firmly to the local TV mast:

New York has six local TV stations – compared to London which has not one.

Birmingham Alabama, an example some of you may have heard me use before, has eight local TV stations – despite being a quarter the size of our Birmingham that, again, doesn’t even have one.

Paris, Lyon and Marseilles have local TV. Why not Glasgow, Sheffield and Bristol?

Unfortunately even as politicians have paid lip service to localism, our broadcasting ecology has pursued the polar opposite model – with a large proportion of news beamed shamelessly from the centre.

In his speech, Hunt said he would:

He also outlined plans for the roll out of superfast broadband in the UK. His speech is available in full at this link, but a Wordle of the top 50 words used gives an overview of his priorities for media:

David Higgerson: 10 ideas for hyperlocal websites

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David Higgerson, head of multimedia at Trinity Mirror Regionals, has been researching the relationship between local newspapers and their websites and independent, hyperlocal websites and blogs. His 10 suggestions adapt some lessons learned by local papers to hyperlocal publishers wanting a bigger audience and also look at how closer relationship could be forged by ‘traditional’ local media outlets and new sites. The ideas include:

Weather: There’ s a reason why newspapers spend a fair bit of money on weather for their newspapers – people want it, and the more local the better. That’s good news for hyperlocal sites, because widgets such as the ones from the Met Office make that a quick win for you.

And:

Nostalgia: The old newsroom joke that nostalgia isn’t what it used to be couldn’t be more wrong – it’s as popular now as it always has been. Again, a good working relationship with the local newspaper (and its big archive) would help here – but delving into the archive section of the local library is another alternative.

Full post at this link…

David Higgerson will be speaking as part of Journalism.co.uk’s panel on grassroots and social journalism at Friday’s BBC College of Journalism and Polis Value of Journalism conference.

#lnw: Local Newspaper Week – a week in headlines

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As part of Local Newspaper Week (10-16 May 2010), Journalism.co.uk collected images of local newspaper headlines from across the UK. We mapped them here and created a Flickr group where the pictures submitted are shared. Thanks to everyone who took part.

Here’s a slideshow of a week in local news headlines from Cardiff to Sunderland and from dog attacks, fires and job cuts to a change in government: