Bishop Auckland MP highlights vital role of thriving local newspapers

THE Teesdale Mercury has won praise in Parliament during a debate on the importance of local media.
MPs were told how the locally owned and produced publication helped the community fight to save Forest of Teesdale school last year.
Teesdale’s MP, Helen Goodman told Westminister how the Mercury, which is owned by Lord Barnard’s family, has been running campaigns to save local village schools.
“In effect, it saved the Forest of Teesdale Primary School,” she said.
The debate was put forward by Ms Goodman following concerns about the closure of local newspapers and claims too many were owned by too few companies – which had unreasonable expectations of profits.
Ms Goodman told a Westminster Hall debate that local papers in her constituency “have not only covered issues that national outlets would not have been interested in covering; they have made a significant difference to the community”.
She added: “It is through local news that people like us get our messages across to our communities, but more importantly, it is the way that communities hold us to account.”
Some 200 local newspapers have closed since 2005, she said. The MP added: “Unfortunately, that involved the loss of 418 journalists’ jobs.”
She added: “I do not suppose many people are aware that four publishers are responsible for three-quarters of the local newspapers in this country: Johnston Press, Trinity Mirror, Newsquest and Tindle. One of the absurdities is that they take over local newspapers and then either close them or shed more jobs. Of the 400-plus jobs that have been lost, 139 were cut by Newsquest and 102 by Trinity Mirror.”
She complained that big companies were taking too much money out of local papers. Ms Goodman said: “These publishers are extracting between 20 per cent and 30 per cent each year. That is what they expect. If they cannot make that, they say the papers are uneconomic. By way of contrast, Tesco – one of the most successful supermarkets in this country – makes a seven per cent return on its capital each year.”
Ms Goodman also criticised Ofcom rules that prevented community radio stations raising more than 50 per cent of their funds from advertising – the rest has to come from grants and other sources. She said: “I am sorry to say that one of the community stations in my constituency, Radio Teesdale, was forced to close. Will the Minister comment in his response on whether it is fair that community radio stations are not allowed to advertise? Every parish magazine has advertisements, but community radio stations do not. That does not seem right.”
Matthew Hancock, minister for digital policy in department for culture, media and sport, said: “The honorable member for Bishop Auckland raised the question of community radio being able to raise money from advertising.
“Two years ago, in April 2015, we increased to £15,000 the amount that a community radio station can make without the limits on that being in place. There is a reason why there is a limit.
“Community radio station licences are genuinely for community purposes. We would not want them to be used for commercial radio, squeezing out community providers. We increased the limit to £15,000, and I hope community radio stations will take advantage of the fact that they can now raise £15,000 of advertising revenue before any of the other limits kick in.”
On the subject of local newspapers, Ms Goodman asked for the Competition and Markets Authority to look into the behaviour of international corporations who own so many publications.
She also suggested communities should get the chance to take over local newspapers through the Localism Act before a title closed. Mr Hancock agreed to look into this.
However, her call for a “short inquiry that looks specifically at what is going on in local media” was rejected, although Mr Hancock noted that the government would constantly review the situation.
The debate followed a week of campaigning by the National Union of Journalists called Local News Matters, which highlighted the importance of community media.
Ms Goodman also spoke at a conference organised by the union in Sunderland.