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Press publishers join ITN bid for news pilot project

Two regional newspaper publishers have joined a consortium bidding for the right to run a TV news pilot project in the North East of England – and received the backing of Lord Melvyn Bragg.

Newsquest and Johnston Press have signed up to the group being led by ITN which originally announced it plans last month to bid for the Independently Funded News Consortia.

Proposals to launch three pilot TV news projects for Wales, Scotland and North East England were outlined in the Digital Britain report with the eventual aim of them taking over the running of all Channel 3 regional news services from 2013.

Bids for pilot projects are currently being accepted with the licences due to be assigned in March.

Both Newsquest and Johnston Press have strong newspaper footholds in the region – Newsquest owns The Northern Echo and Darlington and Stockton Times while JP publishes the Sunderland Echo and Hartlepool Mail.

They are joined in this consortium by Metro Radio Ltd and the University of Sunderland and can boast Lord Melvyn Bragg as a special adviser to the bid.

The ITN-led consortium is going head-to-head with a rival bid being placed by Trinity Mirror, Press Association and Bob Geldof’s Ten Alps.

Newsquest chief executive Paul Davidson said: “With a broad portfolio of newspapers, including the great daily of the north The Northern Echo and an extensive network of websites across the region, Newsquest brings significant journalistic muscle to this new consortium.”

Johnston Press chief executive John Fry added: “This consortium offers a tremendous opportunity to create a whole new approach to local newsgathering.

“Johnston Press boasts an army of journalists on the ground, embedded at a grass-roots level and very much part of their communities.

“We look forward to playing a central role in this new era for local news to best serve readers, surfers and viewers in the area.”