Digital Ecosystem A ‘Perfect Storm’ Designed To Prevent Original Journalism From Thriving
The digital ecosystem is a “perfect storm” designed to prevent original journalism from thriving, delegates at the News Media Association’s Conservative Party Conference panel event heard yesterday.
Chaired by NMA chief executive Owen Meredith, the ‘Truth to Power: How can we support a free press to drive good governance across the UK?’ covered a range of topics including press freedom and SLAPPs, the impact implementation of the new pro competition regime for digital markets, and the impact of the BBC on local journalism.
Talking about the digital ecosystem Douglas McCabe, Enders Analysis chief executive, said: “What matters is the incentives for journalism origination and almost everything that happened in the online world is like a perfect storm designed to prevent that incentive from thriving.
“That’s the most critical question that needs to be addressed by any policy, and it’s really important that policy designers think about what it is they are addressing.”
Graeme Brown, Birmingham Mail editor, said: “There should be a better and more clear reward for the value of our content. We are a regulated industry, we are the people who care when councils go bust, we are the people who campaign against child poverty, and yet it often doesn’t feel like the value of our audience is any greater than an influencer on TikTok.
He added: “What I want is a more stable footing with the big tech firms so I can plan for next year.”
The panel discussed the impact of the BBC on local commercial journalism and the role of Ofcom in regulating the market impact of the BBC.
Graeme said: “The central thing to say is that the BBC came into local news, said it was going to expand the market, and since they have the market has contracted and the BBC has taken a greater amount of it so it’s made life more difficult for people like me.
He added: “We are one charter renewal away from not really having a news industry at all.”
Owen added: “There’s a lot of activity that we wouldn’t put up with in the online world and the BBC is a key example of that.
“If the BBC produced the volume of content that they do, printed it on a daily basis and put it on the news stand for free we just wouldn’t tolerate it.”
Douglas called for Ofcom to be much more robust in ensuring that the BBC was driving traffic to commercial local news sites.
Baroness Stowell, Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee chair, called for politicians to champion local news. “We need to be much more vocal about the importance and the value of local news, not just in terms of the transaction, this is information but to building and strengthening communities,” she said.
The Committee’s Future of News report would be published before the end of the year.