Highfield: Work Still to be Done on BBC Agreement
News Media Association chairman Ashley Highfield has outlined the framework of an agreement with the BBC but stressed that work was still to be done and he was under no illusion “how tough that might be.”
Delivering the keynote speech at a Westminster Media Forum event on local media today, Mr Highfield highlighted key areas where agreement had been reached but stressed that the industry still needed “to work through the numbers.”
There was agreement on the establishment of a shared data journalism unit, agreement on the need for better linking and attribution, a video news bank where BBC video clips would be made available for use on local press websites, and the principle of a public service reporting service provided by the regional press for the BBC.
Mr Highfield said: “We have agreed the principles of a deal but we still need to work through the numbers and I am under no illusion about how tough that might be.
“Discussions are ongoing but some important progress has been made in several areas which could create a framework for the BBC to continue benefiting from our market-leading local journalism expertise.”
“We are edging ever closer to creating a genuinely collaborative partnership – one which allows the BBC to play its role in the provision of local public service news but which still allows local media to thrive in the communities they have been serving for hundreds of years – I’m grateful for the support of John Whittingdale in helping us to get this far.”
David Holdsworth, controller, English Regions, BBC gave further detail about the areas of agreement and said that the BBC had no ambitions to be any more local. He said: “We have no desire or ambitions and certainly no longer the budget, to be any more local than we currently are.”
Mr Highfield said local press would become even more important as the Government enacted its devolution agenda. “I don’t believe the industry is in crisis – far from it. In fact our audiences have never been greater. Around 40 million people now read the local press in print or digital each week,” he added.
“Life is still local. Nine out of 10 people spend the majority of their time and money within five miles of home and they’re proud of the area they live in. And whilst social media often satisfies the need for immediacy, local media is still relied upon as the leading source of original, accurate, and in depth news content.
“It should not be forgotten, that some of the most powerful news stories are born not in the heart of central government but in the town hall of a local community or the corridors of some remote health trust.
“Telling the story that makes a real difference to people’s lives – and that other people don’t want told – is the bedrock of great journalism.
“But whether it’s at parish council level or the heart of Westminster, getting those terrific public interest stories requires sources who trust us.”
Mr Highfield listed key areas in which the Government could help the industry such as securing sufficient protection for journalist sources in the Investigatory Powers Bill, stamping out council papers, and strengthening the Freedom of Information Act.
Mr Highfield concluded: “In summary, a vibrant, professional, challenging, and vocal local press is still very much alive and kicking, with aggregate audience numbers across print and digital growing strongly, and arguably our role to hold local elected officials and public servants to account has never been greater.
“All we ask for, during this testing time of industry transformation, is a fair eco-system, one where we do not compete for advertising revenues with local councils, one where we work symbiotically with the licence-fee funded BBC, one where MPs understand and help us counter the various threats, such as restrictions to FOI requests, to our journalists doing their jobs properly.”
Also speaking at the forum part of which was chaired by Lord Black of Brentwood, was Natalie Wood, Trinity Mirror head of audience extension, who cited Local Media Works’ Consumer Catalyst research in her presentation, highlighting the effectiveness of local media as an advertising medium compared to social media.