NMA Responds To Public Accounts Committee Report On The BBC’s Implementation Of Across The UK

Responding to the Public Accounts Committee’s report on the BBC’s implementation of Across the UK, News Media Association chief executive Owen Meredith said: “The Public Accounts Committee is absolutely right to criticise the BBC for its plans to cut much-loved local radio services and instead push unnecessarily into digital local news services.

“Communities are already very well served with local news by commercial publishers who employ thousands of local journalists up and down the land, covering the courts and councils, publishing agenda-setting scoops, and campaigning on behalf of their readers.

“By forcing local publishers to compete with the might of the licence fee, the BBC’s misguided plans to ramp up its own local news provision will put all this at risk, ultimately leaving us with the BBC as the sole provider of local news in this country.

“As the Committee suggests, the BBC must be made to look again at its plans and let truly local journalists continue their excellent work as the true champions of their communities.”