The BBC has hit back against criticisms of its plans to expand local online news coverage, accusing regional publishers of misreporting and misrepresenting its proposals.

An opinion piece co-authored by six of the most senior editorial executives in the industry was carried in numerous local titles yesterday describing the corporation as the ‘neighbours from hell.’

It came amid the ongoing row over the BBC’s plans to create 130 new jobs by boosting local digital news services while at the same time axeing 179 jobs in local radio and TV.

Local press industry leaders have long argued that this will result in job losses in the commercial online news sector with some newspapers going out of business.

But Rhodri Talfan Davies, the director of BBC Nations and Regions, today hit back by highlighting local publishers’ own record in relation to job losses.

He claimed the criticisms of the corporation are “misplaced and misleading” and that the BBC has been a “good neighbour” to the local press by funding the 165 reporters employed under the local democracy reporting scheme.

In a blog post, he wrote: “The BBC is already investing millions of pounds every year to support high-quality news jobs within the local commercial sector.

“In fact, today, the BBC funds a unique network of 165 journalists – all employed by commercial newsrooms – to scrutinise the work of local authorities across the UK. Since the scheme’s inception, it has produced more than 370,000 original stories for over 1,100 different news outlets.

“Alongside the LDRS, the BBC also provide video content to local news operators via the BBC News Hub, and our Shared Data Unit – based in BBC Birmingham – delivers a range of investigative reports for use by local and regional media partners, as well as data journalism training programmes for reporters based in commercial newsrooms.

“This all comes at a time when commercial publishers are themselves making drastic cuts to jobs and frontline journalism in the regional sector.”

Yesterday’s article accused the BBC of effectively wanting to “suffocate” independent journalism in cities, towns and villages.

“The BBC seems to be on a mission to be the only show in town – having taken an axe to its much-loved local radio stations so it can start writing news stories online which you can already get from local newspapers,” it read.

“If the BBC was a family and lived in the house next door to you it would be the neighbour from hell.”

The article was co-authored by Ian Carter, editorial director of Iliffe Media, Toby Granville, Newsquest editorial development director; Gary Shipton, National World editorial director, Jeremy Spooner, News Media Association Independent Publishers Forum chair, Paul Rowland, Reach Regionals editorial director, and Martin Wright, Midland News Association editor in chief.

They want the BBC to abandon its plans to roll out 43 new local websites – including dedicated portals for Bradford, Wolverhampton, Sunderland and Peterborough – and instead provide just a “snapshot” of life in the nations and regions.

But some former journalists and academic came to the BBC’s defence in posts on social media platform X yesterday.

Responding to the article, former Shields Gazette journalist Janis Blower tweeted: “The absolute cheek of this when some of them have decimated local newsrooms, reducing the content of what were once well-read and respected papers to endless pages of generic features and ‘filler.’ They wouldn’t know ‘local independent journalism’ if it bit them on the backside.”

Shirish Kulkarni, a research fellow at Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture added: “You would really struggle to read anything more disingenuous and lacking in self awareness than this letter. These guys (and of course it is ALL guys) seem to think they’re the saviours of local news, despite all the evidence.”

Rhodri’s blog post can be read in full below.

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Once again, a range of local and regional newspapers across England have published articles criticising the BBC for endangering local journalism and accusing the corporation of being a “Neighbour from Hell”.

Commercial publishers claim that our plans to strengthen our own local journalism by investing in new online and investigative reporter posts could jeopardise the sustainability of other local news providers.

This criticism of the corporation is again misplaced and misleading.

First, there is no evidence the BBC ‘crowds out’ local competition through its online activity. In fact, successive studies and reviews over the last decade show it’s the internet – not the BBC – that has radically challenged the business models of local news operators across the world.

Second, the media regulator Ofcom has reviewed the BBC’s local online plans and determined that they are unlikely to have a significant impact on other local providers. In fact, Ofcom concluded that our plans to strengthen BBC local news provision across 43 areas in England are unlikely to impact more than 0.5-1% of existing local media revenues. In their own words: “We do not consider the change is one that may have a significant adverse impact on fair and effective competition”.

Their full findings can be read here – Review of the BBC’s materiality assessment of proposed changes to the provision of local online news in England (ofcom.org.uk)

The articles that criticised the BBC also invited readers to write to their MPs urging the BBC to be a ‘better neighbour’. What they pointedly failed to tell their readers is that the BBC is already investing millions of pounds every year to support high-quality news jobs within the local commercial sector.

In fact, today, the BBC funds a unique network of 165 journalists – all employed by commercial newsrooms – to scrutinise the work of local authorities across the UK. The impact of the Local Democracy Reporter Scheme (LDRS) is clear. Since the scheme’s inception, it has produced more than 370,000 original stories for over 1,100 different news outlets.

Alongside the LDRS, the BBC also provide video content to local news operators via the BBC News Hub, and our Shared Data Unit – based in BBC Birmingham – delivers a range of investigative reports for use by local and regional media partners, as well as data journalism training programmes for reporters based in commercial newsrooms. This all comes at a time when commercial publishers are themselves making drastic cuts to jobs and frontline journalism in the regional sector.

The truth is that the BBC has always recognised it has a unique responsibility to support our partners in the local community and – like all good neighbours – we are committed to deepening that collaboration in the years to come. But that won’t deter us from setting the record straight when our role in local journalism is misreported.