Thursday 30 April 2009

PG editor: 'Why I'm suspicious of big regional players calls for regulation reform'

Interesting blog from Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford about his exclusive interview with Culture Secretary Andy Burnham on the future of the local media.
Dominic says of Burnham: "He persuaded this correspondent at least that his government really is intent on taking action to help save the regional news industry."
He adds: "It seems likely that the government will do something to bolster local newspapers through the rules over the placing of statutory advertising notices. And movement is also expected soon on merger and competition rules."
But Dominic says: "I’m deeply suspicious of the big regional newspaper players’ calls to do away with regulation."
And he gives an example why. "Former Johnston Press chairman Roger Parry told me last month that there was no case in editorial terms for saying that regional press mergers will harm plurality of coverage. He said: 'Every piece of evidence demonstrates that local editors remain locally autonomous.'
"Yet just the next day it emerged that the long-serving group editors of his company’s Eastbourne and Hastings-based local newspaper groups had both been sacked to be replaced by a group managing director from another part of the country."
Dominic adds: "The fear that the big regional newspaper groups aren’t the best custodians of local journalism comes from the fact that even in the boom years they cut editorial costs to the bone in pursuit of ever higher profit margins of 30 per cent plus.
"Many believe that private owners who are more committed to journalism and their local communities - and who are willing to invest while taking out sustainable profits - would be a better bet."

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