JN800 Friday Week Two
Is there still a role for local media?
Why is local media important?
• Why, with all the talk about US Government
shutdowns, the operations of MI5 and
teenage illiteracy, should we worry about
what happens in West Malling Council or
Medway Council or Cheam Parish Council?
Local Govt Budget 2013
• The Budget for local government in England
and Wales this year is over £102 billion
• Includes:
• £11.2 billion on police
• £21 billion on social care
• Nearly £40 billion on education
The elephant in the room
• Local newspaper budgets are being squeezed
• Northcliffe Media, which publishes regional and
local titles including the Leicester Mercury and
Bristol Post, cut its staff from 4,200 to 2,200 –
almost 48% – between 2008/2009 and 2012,
according to figures provided by DMGT. Over the
same period the number of titles published by
Northcliffe was reduced from 115 to 85.
• Other local news groups are also struggling
More woes…
• 2010’s Regional Press Awards were cancelled
• Trinity Mirror closed or sold 30 titles last year and
reduced its workforce by 1700 through natural
attrition and voluntary and non-voluntary
redundancies
• Have a read of this summary of a recent Select
Committee Report on local media. Summarise
what the key challenges facing local media are.
• (handout 1)
regional press awards are back big
time
•
In 2012 Northcliffe Media scooped their rivals with a whopping nine awards at
Regional Press Awards, including five awards for the Hull Daily Mail.
Trinity Mirror came away with four awards, Johnston Press won three and
Independent News and Media won one.
Of the Hull Daily Mail, Catherine Lea won Business and Finance Journalist of the
Year, Ian Bond won Designer of the Year, ‘The Blitz’ won Special Supplement of the
Year and Nicky Harley took two awards for Specialist writer of the Year and Scoop
of the Year.
But the most surprising winner was Elaine Morgan of the Western Mail, who at the
grand age of 92, took the award for Columnist of the Year.
The judges said: “Elaine’s is a genuinely unique voice. Her columns are beautifully
crafted and laced with wit, self-knowledge and wisdom.”
This Year, Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo did well, the latter praised
for its persistent calls for investigations into the Hillsborough tragedy.
Take a look…
• Take a look at some of these important regional
papers’ websites. Spend 10 minutes analysing
content, summarising the kind of stories they
cover. Are there any investigative stories? Do they
hold local politicians to account? Do they perform
a public service? Are they well designed?
• www.liverpoolecho.co.uk
• www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
• www.hulldailymail.co.uk
• www.walesonline.co.uk (Western Mail)
New digital category
• New digital category won in 2012 by Norwichbased www.pinkun.com
• Local sports news website: have a look at some of
the things it does to generate interest and hits
• In 2013, won by Wales Online with its datastore.
• Take a look:
http://www.theregionalpressawards.org.uk/mod
ules/entries/images/entries-20120051202049.pdf
• Does it help local democracy?
Local papers
• Sir Ray Tindle’s preface to What do we mean by Local? (2012)
•
• · About 1100 local papers in the UK with combined circulation of
more than 17 million copies (weeklies) and 29 million copies
(dailies)
• · ‘Local newspapers carry out a vital role in this country, and
many have been doing so for a hundred years
• · ‘Local residents will always want to take their local paper as
they know that matters of concern to them and their children… will
be dealt with and pursued in detail. Local traders know that their
customers in almost all cases live in the immediate area…the local
paper continues to play, and will always play, a major part in the life
and trade of its town.
Light at the end of the tunnel?
• In July 2007, the Daily Mail General Trust
newspaper group bought 25 of Trinity Mirror’s
local newspapers in the south east of England.
The move was a shock as the previous year
the Trust had tried to sell its own regional
newspaper business. But the promise of
strong growth in local digital platforms made
finance directors change their mind.
• Groups like Johnston Press are still large players: JP alone has 263
papers and 273 websites.
• The number of daily visitors to regional news websites increased by
more than 25 per cent in the first half of this year
• Trinity Mirror’s network of websites saw the biggest increase in
traffic – daily visitors were up 53.6 per cent to 468,426 and monthly
visitors were up 54.7 to 9m year-on-year.
• Newsquest saw the number of monthly users rise by 31.7 per cent
to 8.5m and Northcliffe was up 29 per cent to 5.2m
• Express & Star owners the Midlands News Association saw a yearon-year increase in monthly users of 40.9 per cent to 976,980 –
with daily visitors up 35.8 per cent to 54,859.
• Despite introducing a partial paywall in April, Expressandstar.com
saw an increase in both daily (up 37.7 per cent to 40,528) and
monthly users (up 43.7 to 683,914)
• Local newspaper websites deliver
424million unique users a month
• Local media increased its monthly
online audience 40 per cent over the
past two years, with publishers citing
increased access via smartphones
• More people trust their local paper than
any other form of media
Personnel and numbers
• Local media is a £3 billion industry employing
30,000 people – including more than 10,000
journalists – with nearly 1300 core regional and
local newspapers, more than 1500 websites, 600
niche and ultra local publications, 43 radio
stations and two TV channels.
• The Advertising Association is forecasting
that local press advertising will be back in
growth by Q4 of 2012
• Over the past 10 years only one per cent
of paid for
titles have closed. No part of the UK is
totally bereft of local news
• The vast majority of local newspaper
closures have been marginal free weekly
titles, and – according to Ofcom - should
be considered in the context of the
significant expansion of free titles in
1980s
• Local media is reaching bigger audiences than
ever before with 1300 newspapers, 1500
websites, 750 stand-alone magazines, 600
‘ultra local’ titles, 43 radio stations and 2 TV
channels. The trouble is, business managers
have yet to find a way of making money out of
online media.
• Working for a time on local media is still the
best apprenticeship a journalist can get.
One expert’s view
• Newspaper Society Director David Newell, in a
recent (October 09) statement: “Despite the
suddenness and severity of the advertising
recession which has hit all media sectors globally,
local media ad revenues have been stabilising
over the summer. And unlike many of its media
competitors, local newspaper print readership is
being maintained and the industry’s investment in
multimedia channels means that it is reaching
more of the population than ever as well as
attracting new online ad revenues,” he said.
Campaigns
• Campaigning journalism was born on local papers and
still thrives there. W T Stead, famous when on the Pall
Mall Gazette for exposing child prostitution in Victorian
London, learned his trade and cut his teeth on the
Northern Echo.
• Award-winning journalist Rob Waugh of the Yorkshire
Post carries on this proud tradition
• Task 1: (handout) Read this section from Rob Waugh’s
investigation into children’s homes and assess a) the
importance of having a local media watchdog in this
case and b) how the vigour of his writing style lends
itself to the story
FOI Friday
• Certainly, local newspapers’ use of FOI requests is impressive. A
blog written by David Higgerson, head of multimedia for Trinity
Mirror Regionals, highlights Freedom of Information requests made
by local media titles each week.
• FoI Friday highlights FoI stories which appeared in local media titles
during the week.This week he flags up items including the Liverpool
Echo’s story on thefts from hospitals, the Nottingham Evening Post’s
exposure of its local council’s staff phone bill, and The Sunday Sun’s
report on the financial impact of potholes.
• Task 2: Take a look at one of Higgerson’s posts:
http://davidhiggerson.wordpress.com/tag/foi-friday/
• Make a list of the kind of stories local media have covered as a
result of FOI requests. How important are they to local democracy?
Trust
• Local journalists are far more widely trusted than national ones
Frost (in Franklin 2006) asserts: ‘the belief that local journalists
operate on a different moral plane to their national counterparts is
widespread.
• Aldridge (2007) believes one of the key reasons for this is that
national newspapers treat their audiences as an ‘abstract
phenomenon’ whereas local papers have much closer links with
their audience. This distinction has lead to for example the famous
Sun blunder after the Hillsborough Disaster when, acting on
unsubstantiated tip-offs by the police (who wanted the spotlight off
their role in the tragedy), the Sun published untrue stories about
Liverpool fans urinating on the bodies of the dead and fans pick
pocketing victims. Outrage followed, and newsagents banned the
paper. Sales fell over 200,000 overnight and have never recovered.
Liverpool Echo
• In contrast, the Liverpool Echo has
campaigned, with the families of the 96 who
died, for justice over the past 23 years and has
conducted its own investigations and lobbied
for the inquests to be re-opened.
• Recent Mintel study points out that: “no other
media gives the same commitment and
attention to local and regional events as the
regional press” and said that “no other
provider, including local citizens, could
consistently provide locally-focused coverage
by journalists in the same way.”
Problem
• Local media (apart from BBC) are commercial
enterprises. They have to survive by selling
advertising/newspapers. They close down
when they fail to make a profit. However they
are absolutely fundamental to local
democracy in terms of holding power to
account. How do you square this circle?
Political concern of a ‘democratic
deficit’
• Commons Handout
• http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm
200910/cmselect/cmcumeds/43/43i.pdf
• Task 3: Spend a few minutes looking at this
report and reading the summary. What is your
understanding of MPs’ fears of an absence of
local media? What do you think they mean
when they say it is local journalism rather than
local newspapers that must be saved?
Ofcom’s views
• As part of its evidence to the government’s
consultation on regional and local news, Ofcom has
highlighted the importance of local newspapers to
society and the high value that is placed upon them by
readers, many of whom feel an emotional link with the
medium. It also puts some of the challenges facing
local newspapers into perspective.
• The detailed research study, Local and Regional Media
in the UK, was conducted by Ofcom as part of its
submission to the DCMS consultation. It found that
local newspapers play an “important role” sustaining
democracy, are “embedded in people’s lives”, and
continue to be highly trusted.
More from Ofcom
• Local media make up a core element of the local public
sphere and are vital in scrutinising local politics
• The study states: “We have recognised the critical role that
local newspaper journalism plays in delivering public
purposes. Local newspaper journalism not only underpins
the delivery of local news on other media, but also makes a
key contribution to the national news agenda.
• “Consumers and citizens value the role local and regional
content plays in their lives; local and regional news in
particular helps to inform people about what is going on in
their local community, while news and other types of local
content contribute towards reflecting UK cultural identity
and representing diversity and alternative viewpoints.”
• Ofcom said they had looked at the threat to local and
regional newspapers given the role they play in the
wider media ecology.“Structural changes in advertising
markets and the impact of the recession have raised
concerns around the scale of newspaper closures and
job losses affecting local newspapers. Our analysis
shows that so far, newspaper closures have been
mainly weekly free sheets in highly competitive
markets. The majority of redundancies in local
newspapers also appear to have been in functions
which are not core to newsgathering, such as
advertising sales and pre-production.”
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It said: “Local and regional newspapers play a particularly important role in
informing, representing, campaigning and interrogating and thus underpinning
awareness and participation in the democratic process.
“Newspaper journalism is also a crucial part of the local and regional media
ecology because it supports journalism on other platforms.”
It continues: “Within the local media ecology, local newspapers are the most
trusted source of fair and unbiased local news and information, after regional TV,
and closely followed by local radio.
“Many respondents felt an emotional tie with this medium, and considered it
essential for those interested in following local politics.
“Consumer research suggests that the public retains an interest in both crime and
council reporting. In addition, more consumers turn to local newspapers as their
main weekly source of news on council activities (16 per cent) than to council
publications (2 per cent).”
Possible way forward for local newspapers is that they could be involved in the
Independently Funded News Consortia (IFNC) proposed by the government.
Ways forward
• Advertising: creeping up? Early 2010 Johnston Press, one of the
largest local newspaper publishers, announced an end to the fall in
advertising: The owner of 300 local and regional papers said the
dramatic falls in advertising revenues plateaued in the first two
months of this year after falling 35pc in the first quarter of 2009.
However the company said it did not expect motor advertising to
recover. The company was more optimistic about property
advertising.
• After closing two presses last year Johnston said it had no plans to
close any more newspaper titles.
• Tory Government tightening up on council-funded freesheets,
which are competing directly with local newspapers. Digital
Economy Minister Stephen Timms met early 2010 with the
Newspaper Society on local authority publications.
Green Shoots?
• Amazingly, local newspapers are still being launched: Three titles –
the Edmonton Herald, East Barnet Advertiser and Winchmore Hill
Herald – were launched last Spring and a fourth in the summer. The
titles are aimed at attracting small retailers to advertise in them.
• Tindle Newspapers chairman Sir Ray Tindle said: “We totally believe
in the future of the printed local newspaper – we believe in it 100
per cent. Readers want to see their very local news and reports of
their activities in print and they want it in their local paper where all
their neighbours will see it too.”
• ‘I'm convinced there is still a great future in print weekly papers. I
don't think the public is going to be satisfied with only the internet.
They want to see it [in print] if they child is winning a prize at school
and they want to be sure all their neighbours have seen it. They
want it in a local weekly paper."
More from Tindle
• "So newspapers will always be the leading
medium in the communities in this country. There
are 1,000 small weekly local papers which have
survived this recession so far and will come right
through with flying colours and good profits,"
Tindle said.
• "Many of mine are over 150 years of age and
scores of them are over 100. One is over 200.
They have lived through two World Wars and at
least six recessions and they will live for ever. We
believe there's room for more."
Octogenarian at it again
• Tindle has launched several other ‘ultra local’
titles this year.
• The newspapers are what is known as ‘hyper’ or
‘ultra local’ serving a readership of round about
3,000 with a small 1 – 3 journalistic staff. Sounds
very similar to the beginning of the newspaper
industry in this country where in the C17 and C18
early ‘journalists’ issued small news sheets and
pamphlets to a local community.
hyperlocal
• Hyperlocal news sites are starting up, covering
sometimes only a few blocks of streets
• Task 4 Read Tom O’Brien’s article on hyperlocal
(handout), and have a look at the webiste
(www.mymuswell.com). Does it do everything he
boasts it can do?
• Here’s what one journalism blogger thinks of
‘hyperlocal’ journalism:
• http://davidhiggerson.wordpress.com/category/h
yperlocal-journalism/
• Task 4: spend about 10-15 minutes researching
hyperlocal journalism: its stories and its business
model. Does it seem to you to be a sustainable
way forward? You might want to start here:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/youngjournalists/tag/tindle-newspapers/. This is from
a US website, but the principles are the same:
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/people/dchase/200905/1
740/ But what about hyperlocal titles’ ability to
train a new generation of journalists?
A (very) brief history of local media
• At the start of C18 the local newspaper was almost
unknown. By mid C18 some 130 local titles had been
established. However, they did not publish much, if any
local news and picked national and London news off
London papers.
• Early C19 saw rapid growth of local titles: printing
presses were relatively cheap; low start-up costs meant
that papers did not have to sell in great numbers to be
profitable; most sold in low hundreds at prices
equivalent to about £15 in today’s money; widespread
establishment of community reading rooms meant that
readerships were 20 times circulation.
History contd
• Establishment of the ‘great’ provincial titles:
Manchester Guardian (1821); Yorkshire Post (1866);
Northern Echo (1870); Birmingham Post (1857) and
Liverpool Post (1855) and Echo (1879)Big growth after
abolition of stamp duty in mid C19; Heyday of the
British provincial press was mid C19 to early C20 when
London papers started to rival local ones thanks to
better transport and different printing centres.
• Local papers rallied during WW1 when they were seen
to be more independent of the Government
censorship. Were more likely to report casualties,
particularly of local prominent men, and less likely to
gloss over the massive loss of life.
• C20 has seen a slow and steady process of sales decline
and conglomeration, with today the top 20 publishers
responsible for more than 88 per cent of all regional
and local titles.
• Largest groups: Trinity Mirror, Northcliffe, Johnston
Press and Newsquest. Profitability is high with Johnson
Press making 30 per cent and Trinity Mirror 28 per cent
profit margins. This is a source of constant chafing
amongst Unions: local journalists are paid very little
compared to national ones. When I started work on
the Reading Chronicle in 1990, my income was £4,600
a year!!
Some examples
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Liverpool Echo: robust reporting
12 arrested as Liverpool drugs blitz continues into second day
SWEEPING drugs raids today saw 12 arrested in a coordinated clamp down on dealers in
Merseyside.
The second phase of operation Denison in which four were arrested yesterday in Old Swan and
Croxteth.
This morning 17 warrants were carried out by the Liverpool North police team across Kirkdale,
Childwall, Tuebrook and Walton.
Action will continue today, with more searches expected today.
Liverpool North Chief Inspector Shaun Holland explained: "Today's operation will hopefully show
residents in these areas that we are continually tackling drugs and this type of action is not just a
one off. We want to rid the streets of Liverpool North of this type of activity ."
He added: "Darren Wilson the dedicated Neighbourhood Inspector will also be giving out a
dedicated mobile number 07739 655 799 for residents to contact him on. Residents are able to
provide information to him personally on this number about drug related activity in their areas. We
will take this information away and hopefully we will be able to act upon it in a similar fashion as to
what we've done today."
• Western Daily Press: holding Government to account
• Mendip District Council maladministration slammed by
ombudsman
• The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has delivered a damning
judgement on Mendip District Council over a land deal.
• In a four-page verdict on the council's dealings with a handful of
villagers in North Wootton, senior investigator Jennifer Randell
writes: "I have identified maladministration in terms of delay,
confusion and misinformation and I consider this has caused
residents frustration and uncertainty."
• The issue has arisen over the council's behaviour in relation to a
patch of land in the village that the residents want to turn into a
community garden.
• The decision is tied up with an alternative land deal the council has
struck with a private householder.
The View from across the Pond
• http://jonathanlloyd.com/2011/02/22/claychristensen-on-the-survival-of-local-media/