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BBC creates 15 new local democracy reporter jobs to cover more councils

BarracloughFifteen new local democracy reporter roles are being created amid an expansion of the service to cover more councils.

The BBC has announced the new jobs, which will bring the total number of journalists employed under the scheme to 165.

All reporter contracts awarded to regional publishers are to be retendered for the first time since the project’s launch in 2018, and the BBC says it will now be made easier for smaller organisations to bid for contracts.

The new posts have been allocated to county and district level council areas that have been identified as most in need of more resource.

They will cover Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lancashire, Surrey, Hampshire, East and West Sussex, Kent, Devon, Staffordshire, North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Reporters who cover these areas at present may have a county council and several district councils to cover, and will share coverage of the various authorities with the new reporters.

All 165 LDR roles are being tendered through 118 contracts containing a maximum of three reporters and will be effective from July 2021 for three years.

A full breakdown of which authorities will be covered by each contract can be found here.

At present, there are 68 contracts for the 150 journalists currently employed by the scheme, with maximum of six reporters per contract.

It is hoped reducing the number of reporters per contract, along with a number of other initiatives, will encourage smaller news organisations to bid.

Funds for this increase have come from a reallocation of resources from within the BBC’s £8m a year Local News Partnerships budget.

Matthew Barraclough, pictured, head of the BBC LNP, said: “We set out to work with partners to address the democracy deficit: to get reporters back into town halls, politicians held to account and important local decisions aired through our local media.

“Many public bodies are being covered like never before and this is only going to continue as the LDRS moves into its next stage.

“Earlier this year the formal review of this project made a number of recommendations to build on the success of the last three years.

“Encouraging a more diverse range of partners to consider employing an LDR and increasing the total number of reporters are both significant responses to those suggestions.”

JPIMedia editor in chief Jeremy Clifford, chair of the NMA/BBC advisory panel, added: “The local news media industry has played a vital role in providing highly trusted and accurate information to the public during the coronavirus pandemic and the journalism produced by the local democracy reporters has been a significant part of this.

“We are pleased that the LDRS is being expanded as this will further enhance local media’s scrutiny of public bodies, and strengthen its ability to hold power to account.

“Since its inception, the Local News Partnership has created significant benefit for the public and we will continue to look at ways for this ground-breaking partnership to be developed.”