Thursday 26 March 2009

Action plan proposals for regional press

The Society of Editors and the Newspaper Society have responded to Culture Secretary Andy Burnham’s request for a list of urgent action points to help the local media industry.
The action plan includes:
The Government issuing guidance to stop local government publications and websites from competing directly with and undermining local papers.
Local and national government, which recognise the effectiveness of local media editorially, being encouraged to advertise jobs and services in local papers and their websites.
Removing the threat to relax obligations to advertise public notices in local newspapers.
Seeking urgent and effective ways to stop Google and others from profiting from third party content without recompense to or consent from news gatherers and others who generated the material.
Investing public funds for training directly with media companies and the industry’s main training organisation, the NCTJ, would help local papers to maintain news gathering and encourage training for multi-platform news delivery.
Ministers are already discussing liberalisation of controls over regional and local newspaper mergers, transfers and cross-media ownership, which both organisations have urged.

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