'Local media's community building role at risk'

NUJ equality officer Lena Calvert has warned that the local media's role in keeping communities together is at risk.
She said: “Savage cutbacks across most sectors of our industry are seriously threatening quality and damaging our profession.
"This is particularly the case in local newspapers where titles are closing, leaving some areas without printed local newspapers – this affects social cohesion and deprives communities of information about what is happening in their locality – including, of course, information about court cases relating to hate crimes but also about positive aspects of our diverse societies. And this leaves a vacuum for extremists to exploit prejudice and irrational fears.”
Calvert made her comments when she was addressing a symposium in London yesterday (Thursday), organised by Lancaster University’s Hate Crime Research Group.