Regional newspaper groups could provide council coverage for the BBC as part of a new partnership with the corporation with talks over the proposed deal at a “crunch point.”
In a speech to the Westminster Forum, Johnston Press boss Ashley Highfield outlined four areas of focus with the BBC, but added: “We still need to work through the numbers and we’re under no illusions how difficult that might be.”
The News Media Association (NMA), which is chaired by Ashley, and the BBC have been in talks for more than a year to find ways they could work more closely to strengthen local journalism as part of the corporation’s charter renewal.
Most discussion has focused on how the BBC could fund more journalists, potentially employed by local media groups, and take content from them.
Ashley would not be drawn on further detail beyond describing it as a “provision by the regional press to the BBC of a comprehensive reporting service primarily covering local authorities.”
Having journalists employed locally by professional organisations and providing content to the BBC would be a win for both parties – the local media would benefit from “a proper commercial framework for use of this content by the BBC”, he said.
Ashley said the other three areas being discussed with the BBC were:
- a video bank that would make BBC regional content available to local media partners free of charge
- a shared data journalism unit
- an agreement on better linking to local media content on BBC news sites and attribution to content originated in the local media.
An audit is also proposed to find the level of content which BBC sites use but which comes from other local sources.
Ashley said the BBC, the NMA and Culture Secretary John Whittingdale were inching towards a deal, but were at a “crunch point”.
“We are trying to reach an agreement on how it is going to work – how much, and when and where,” he said.
David Holdsworth, the Controller of English Regions at the BBC, told the forum: “The idea we might use some of the licence fee to fund reporters to report on local democracy for all comers is one I think we broadly agree on.”
He said the BBC would not employ the reporters in such a project, but that “some form of mechanism” would be needed to oversee it.
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Personally, I do not want my licence fee to fund reporters to work for newspaper groups, many of whom struggle to run their own businesses in an efficient manner.
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…and what financial benefit will these reporters receive for the extra demands placed on them by working for two masters, I wonder?
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Auntie employees — beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
This has all the hallmarks of a JP snafu, with an inevitable effect on jobs and editorial standards,
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Perhaps this will give the JP share price the boost it so badly needs?
Oh no, there it is, bobbling along well below 50p where it’s been since New Year’s Eve and less than a third of its value a year ago.
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If – and it is. Big if – it actually happens, the BBC will be in for a real shock when they see the lamentable standard of copy being thrust their way by many of our local papers.
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The previous idea – that the Beeb would employ the journos & feed their council coverage to the papers – makes far more sense because it would guarantee the coverage. I fear the papers will take the Beeb’s money & use it to fund more staff cuts!
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Council coverage. Don’t you need reporters for that?
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And the next item on the agenda is “When did we last see a reporter from the local paper?
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I have not seen a single local reporter at a town council meeting since JP lost all its local staff three years ago. Local democracy is not served well by local newspapers any more. It used to be so different.
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My local council stopped providing a press desk because no-one ever turned up. Says it all.
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Strengthen local journalism through JP!? They’ve made over 1,000 redundant in recent years. It’s like asking a butcher to look after your pet lambs!!
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Have some self respect Ashley. Your reporters work for their local papers not the bbc. But you’d sell your granny at the right price. You’re the worst thing to ever happen to local weekly papers!
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The BBC have been stealing my stories for years despite having the most heavily manned newsrooms in the country … and they need more help?
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I agree with Blurry. We have the most threadbare reporting team in history. I manage to cover around 16 decent stories per week in our town, alongside all the other stuff I have to write. The BBC has two reporters to cover our town. They do one story per day between them. And yet they want us to do more work for them. We go to as many meetings and court days as we can. In the past two years I have never once seen one of the two BBC reporters for our area at a council meeting. I’m not sure what they do all day to be honest.
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JP Jane. Delighted to hear you manage to cover meetings. A lot of JP papers don’t.
What BBC local reporters do is stand outside a council, cop shop, hospital (anywhere will do) late at night and tell us….not much at all. It is time the BBC stopped this waste of staff. OK if there is real breaking news, but there seldom is.
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Hear hear dejaviewed.
I am tired of seeing wherever I travel in England the same old tired template after 10 pm “Over to our reporter Phil/Phyl Time in Dullsville”. He or she rarely has anything new to say and would rather be at home or clubbing. Save it for the big stories, and save us some licence money. Newspapers cannot waste staff in this way. Why should the BBC?
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We don’t send journalists to the local council anymore. But not to worry, the council PRs send us their happy-clappy guff that’s light years away from the real McCoy exclusives we used to winkle out from our contacts. Anyway, the Town Hall still advertises in our unspeakable rag, so that keeps the council and JP suits happy. And to think that the diminishing band of readers pay an exorbitant cover price to read these council fairy tales.
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There aren’t any local press reporters left covering local democracy!
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I get exasperated when the Beeb sends the hundreds to the World Cup or some other jolly but why are print journos attacking their colleagues at the BBC?
The Beeb is a good payer with a fantastic pension scheme. The people attacking it should be trying to get in it rather than whining about how they are overmanned.
The whingeing seems to be suggesting the BBC should operate on the miserable skeleton staffs of the regional press. So, logically, even fewer jobs to go round. Where’s the sense in that?
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JPs coverage of local councils is a disgrace in a modern democracy.
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Well as far as I can recall our paper has not entered a local council chamber for at least four years. But it faithfully carries press releases untouched by human hand.
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Excellent comments on the lack of council coverage – and the lack of coverage coverage generally. The tragedy is that JP couldn’t care less. Any guff will do to fill their objectionable templates. It’s a lost cause. Keep cutting and pasting those emails!
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