A group of MPs and peers have praised the local press for its “more balanced, rounded and nuanced” coverage of religious issues compared to national news outlets.

‘Learning to Listen’ a report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Religion in the Media, highlights the positive role played by local and regional media in reporting religion.

The report also found that local journalists were often responsible for exposing malpractice among religious groups before such stories are picked up by the national media.

But it warns that the impact of newspaper closures and job cuts could harm religious and other public interest reporting.

The report states:  “Local print media has historically played a vital social role. It has carried out some of the most important investigative work while providing a community with a sense of shared identity and purpose.

“We heard compelling evidence that, alongside these important social benefits, local media continues to represent religions in a more balanced, nuanced and informative
way than national media.

“Reporting on local religious festivals, community events and local charities can represent the lived reality of religious practice and experience in a way that is very difficult for national journalism to achieve.

“Local and regional journalists are also more likely to develop the long-term relationships so important in accurately representing a given community.”

The report goes on: “Alongside balanced portrayals of faith, local journalists are often best placed to discover malpractice.

“Many scandals which become national news will begin at the local level and the initial groundwork will be done by local journalists.

“This is as true of stories relating to religious groups as it is of those about companies or local governmental bodies.

“While such stories may be critical or uncomfortable, they protect our civil liberties and nourish our democracy.

It concludes: “The loss of local, public interest reporting is deeply worrying. Not only does local journalism play an important social and democratic role, we received compelling evidence that it fulfils a valuable function in representing religion and belief in an accessible and balanced way.

“The government has partially implemented the recommendations made in the Cairncross Review and we call on them to fully comply with its recommendations to ensure that local public-interest journalism has a sustainable future.”

The central recommendation of Dame Frances Cairncross’s 2019 Review – a government-funded Institute for Public Interest News – has yet to be implemented.

Dame Frances proposed that the Institute should ultimately take over the running of the Local Democracy Reporting service from the BBC and the News Media Association.

The report was backed by Rev Peter Crumpler, a Church of England priest in St Albans, Herts, and a former director of communications with the Church of England.

Writing in Christian Today, he said the report highlighted the “sensitive grassroots coverage” with the way faith is often reported in the national press.

Said Peter: “As someone who trained as a local newspaper reporter and has been involved in working with the media to cover faith issues for more than 45 years, I wholeheartedly agree with the report’s praise.

“But from conversations with editors and faith leaders, I know there still exists a divide to be crossed. Often, local journalists are unaware of the rich source of news and feature stories that lie within local faith communities.

“Vicars, pastors, rabbis, imams and other faith leaders are either wary of their local media or are not aware that the local newspaper or radio station would welcome hearing from them.

“Where churches and other faith groups have built links with their local media, positive, informed coverage is often achieved.”