NMA Will Work Towards Securing ‘Strong And Sustainable Future’ For Journalism

The News Media Association has a critical role to play in ensuring that independent journalism, which is keeping the public informed during the coronavirus pandemic, has a strong and sustainable future.  

Priorities for the NMA include working with Government and regulators to shape the Digital Markets Unit when it starts work in April to ensure that the legal and regulatory regime transforms the relationship between the tech platforms and news publishers.  

The NMA will work with the Government to ensure that the Online Harms legislation delivers on a news publisher exemption which works in practice and is not reliant on judgment calls by the tech platforms about news content.

Outlining the organisation’s strategic priorities, NMA chief executive David Newell said: “News media has played a critical role in keeping the public informed during the coronavirus pandemic and will continue to do.

“The NMA will support this by working to ensure that the business of creating and distributing trusted journalism is placed on a much more sustainable footing than it is currently.”

Other priorities for the NMA include pushing for targeted support for regional and local news publishers, including the preservation of public notices bolstered by the NMA public notice portal initiative, business rates relief, and tax incentive relief proposals.

The NMA will work with Government, Ofcom, and the BBC on future structures to govern the remit of the BBC and its relationship with commercial news publishers and their audiences.

NMA priorities also include analysing the role of the judiciary and its impact on press freedom particularly in respect of privacy law and related developments to discuss in a dialogue with Government and the judiciary.