The editor of two sister dailies has urged the new Culture Secretary to stop the BBC from “encroaching” on local news.
Jeremy Clifford, who leads The Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post, made the remarks following John Whittingdale’s appointment to the role of Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
The move has also been described as “potentially very positive” by Ashley Highfield, chief executive of Johnston Press, the company which owns the two Leeds-based titles.
Jeremy, pictured, took to Twitter to make the plea after Mr Whittingdale’s appointment was reported on HTFP on Monday.
He wrote: “It would be good to see Whittingdale return the BBC to what they’re good at and stop them encroaching on what we’re good at, local news.”
Both the YEP and the YP are currently involved in a content-sharing project, which involves links to their stories being posted on the BBC’s website.
The scheme is set to be introduced across England over the next year.
Adding his thoughts on Mr Whittingdale’s appointment, Ashley wrote on the social networking website: “Whittingdale culture secretary appointment potentially very positive from regional publishers’ point of view.”
John Elworthy, editor of the Cambs Times, Wisbech Standard and Ely Standard, has also discussed the future of the licence fee in an interview with BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
In the interview, a full transcript of which can be found here, John called for cuts to the “bloated echelons” of the corporation.
He added: “Every other media organisation, and the BBC ought to be included in this, has had to re-evaluate their existence in this modern age, had to cut costs, had to prune to the bone their overheads to survive.
“And there’s not a day goes past when I don’t read in our own trade journals about another newspaper suffering. And some of that suffering has been caused by the relentless growth of the BBC in the regions.”
The BBC has declined to comment.
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Laughable!!!
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Anything that gets up the noses of JP and its minions has got to be good. Don’t meddle with the BBC, Mr Whittingdale — it’s an institution that is quite rightly proud of its independence.
BBC local news coverage may not be of the highest quality, but take a hard look at what is churned out by the YP and YEP these days!
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Every other organisation has had to prune to the bone to survive. Well, sure they have it was a recession, they were being very badly managed (the overheads that have been pruned were mostly editorial, which I wouldn’t call overheads in a newspaper) and the world’s gone digital. But why on earth should the BBC, which does a very good job for the nation, if not the local press, cut its overheads when it doesn’t need to? That is truly the politics of envy, guys. But don’t fret: Murdoch’s mates in the government will see to it that it’s screwed so hard that it’ll be nothing but Fox news & rubbish US imports within five years…
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I wonder if the YP and YEP will stop shooting video or doing podcasts.
Surely that is the job of local radio and local TV ?
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Cry babies. Local news isn’t the sole property of local newspapers.
Only some of that suffering John Elworthy mentions has been caused by the BBC. Much of it has been complacency and failure to adapt to a changing world among newspapers and staff.
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‘Here is the BBC news from London with John Snagge reading it…
Today there is a giant rollover in the Euromillions, please stay tuned for more information. A survey says that your town has the loudest snorers in the UK, and for those listeners in the Home Counties – the M6 near Manchester was closed this morning after a two-vehicle collision – I’m sorry, I have just been told that accident actually happened last Wednesday.
Meanwhile – did you know that you can get an egg McMuffin for just 99p at…’
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Massive smokescreen. The problems local newspapers face has a minute amount to do with the BBC and almost entirely down to the publishing companies that own them. Like cutting staff endlessly while increasing workloads on the poor unfortunates that remain. The BBC, for some, is the only glimmer of hope left for excellent journalists when newspapers get round to turfing them out. Independent and impartial news output in this country looks doomed.
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Dry your eyes and stop your windging Clifford. Maybe you and rest of the JP cronies should focus on your own crisis instead of moaning that the Beeb are making all you lot look bad. It’s called competition!
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Let the BBC operate in the same commercial environment as local newspapers, and give people the option of paying the licence fee!
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I seem to remember these newspapers doing very well in pre-JP days, with the local BBC just as much in evidence. Your problem, Mr Clifford, is that your products are no longer as good, in design terms, content and relevance. That is not the fault of the BBC, who, in fact, now employ many of your redundant journalists. Get real: you’ve let talented staff go from many departments, and it shows.
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