NMA: BBC Plans To Invest More In Its Digital Local News Provision Are ‘Misguided, Unwelcome And Unwarranted’
BBC plans to further boost its digital local news provision are “totally misguided, unwelcome, and unwarranted,” the News Media Association has said.
Responding to reports, that the BBC is set to invest more in its digital local news provision, NMA chief executive Owen Meredith said: “These plans from the BBC are totally misguided, unwelcome, and unwarranted. They move resources from respected local radio output to directly compete with local news publishers in the online space.
“The BBC is already dominant in online news, which adds to the well documented challenges for publishers to build truly sustainable business models for digital news. This move overreaches the BBC’s remit, as set out in the Charter, and threatens rather than complements commercial news publishers’ local offer.”
In a debate in the House of Commons on ‘BBC Local Radio: Proposed Reduction in Provision’, Sir John Whittingdale MP asked government: “Online news is already well supplied by the local media, which is under considerable pressure even without greater competition from the BBC. Will she consider asking Ofcom to look into the impact of this decision on local publishers?”
DCMS Minister Julia Lopez MP answered: “My right hon. Friend obviously has a great deal of expertise in these matters and I am grateful to him for raising the great content of BBC Essex. As I have said before, this is a great opportunity to show the strength of opinion across the House; the BBC is there precisely to serve audiences that are not covered by commercial radio. I would be happy to talk to Ofcom, because these are fundamental questions about the purpose of the BBC.”
DCMS Select Committee Chair Julian Knight MP expressed “very real concerns about the potential loss of local distinctiveness through the proposed cuts”, asking government: “Should the BBC really be once again aping the commercial sector by coalescing around theme rather than genuine distinctiveness? That is where we are going with these plans.”
In response Ms. Lopez said: “I thank my hon. Friend the Chair of the Select Committee. I am particularly grateful to him and the Committee for their very important work and investigations into local journalism, and for the opportunity to present to the Committee a couple of weeks ago. One of the issues the proposals raise is whether the BBC investing more online has an impact on local news providers, which compete for that online space.”
She added: “Ofcom regulates the BBC, but we are undertaking a mid-term review and we shall seek Ofcom’s input into that. The hon. Gentleman raises the digital first strategy, which raises questions about whether the BBC is increasing its presence in online content and whether that has a knock-on effect on local journalism and other local outlets. Those are all issues that we are considering as part of the mid-term review, and I am grateful for his input.”
Kit Malthouse MP also posed concerns over the BBC’s decision. He said: “I share the alarm expressed across the House and by the Minister at this move.
“I represent a part of Hampshire that often finds it hard to identify itself in the BBC schedules, squeezed as it is between BBC Radio Solent, which concentrates on the urban areas to the south of the county that are an hour away, and BBC Radio Berkshire, in a different county altogether, yet the BBC does just enough in my part of the world to make sure that the commercial sector cannot function or thrive in North West Hampshire.
“I urge the Minister not to mess about with this debate, which we have had many, many times over the years about the BBC.”