Roy Greenslade in his Evening Standard column today says that the Press Association is just "days away" from getting funding from a charitable source to introduce “public service reporting”.
He says once funds are available, adverts will be placed to recruit staff for the pilot project in the Merseyside region in association with Liverpool Echo publisher Trinity Mirror.
"The idea is that the new team of public service reporters will then put up their copy on a dedicated portal that will allow any news outlet, whether it be a Trinity Mirror title, a national paper or an individual blogging outfit, to publish the content free of charge.
"It is an imaginative attempt to overcome the worrying prospect of courts, councils and other public bodies going unreported as traditional news organisations cut back on their reporting staffs."
Greenslade adds: "News has always been costly to provide, a fact concealed by the funding of advertising. Now that ad income is drying up, we are finally discovering that news comes at a price. It is a sobering thought that we may have to rely on charity and, ultimately, State funding to give us the news in future."
"It is an imaginative attempt to overcome the worrying prospect of courts, councils and other public bodies going unreported as traditional news organisations cut back on their reporting staffs."
Greenslade adds: "News has always been costly to provide, a fact concealed by the funding of advertising. Now that ad income is drying up, we are finally discovering that news comes at a price. It is a sobering thought that we may have to rely on charity and, ultimately, State funding to give us the news in future."
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