Written evidence submitted by The Press
Association
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Press Association is the national news agency
of the UK and Ireland and the UK's leading multimedia news and
information provider. Through our relationships with local and
regional print, TV, radio and online media outlets, we are acutely
aware of the issues being faced by the industry during this period
of structural change and cyclical downturn.
Drawing on our experiences at the heart of the
news industry, we would like to make the following recommendations
to the committee:
— The Press Association strongly supports
Ofcom's proposals for independently funded news consortia which
could play an important role in supporting the development of
multimedia newsrooms in the nations and regions.
— We believe that free content sharing
by the BBC would distort the market for news provision. An alternative
solution for maintaining plurality would be to encourage the BBC
to outsource a percentage of its newsgathering to commercial providers.
— Collaborative working and knowledge sharing
between the BBC and the commercial news industry would provide
value to the local and regional media.
— There are growing concerns that coverage
of public service institutions and the democratic process is being
eroded by the pressures in the news industry. We recommend the
setting up of a review body to assess the scale of the problem
and investigate possible solutions, including public funding.
— The changes being experienced by the
media industry will require major re-skilling of regional and
local print journalists which could be supported by Government
incentives.
THE PRESS
ASSOCIATION—A MULTIMEDIA
AGENCY FOR
A DIGITAL
BRITAIN
1. Founded in 1868, the Press Association
was established with the principle of co-operation and partnership
at its core. Our shareholders comprise a diverse selection of
key media companies, including News International, the Daily Mail
and General Trust, Trinity Mirror, the Guardian Media Group, United
Business Media, The Telegraph Group, Johnston Press, Archant,
DC Thomson, Midland News Association and Thomas Crosbie &
Co.
2. From our central position in the media
market, we provide a range of scalable, high-quality, cost-effective
news and information services that benefit UK citizens as well
as news providers. We deliver continuous feeds of text, pictures,
video and data into newsrooms which are relied on by journalists
around the country as a trusted source of news. As an institution,
we share many of the commitments and values of the UK's public
service broadcasters, reporting the news fairly, accurately and
impartially and developing innovative products and services to
meet the needs and demands of audiences, advertisers and media
owners. We also have a well-established and trusted relationship
with key institutions and event holders in the UK.
3. The organisation has invested heavily
in its capabilities as a multimedia agency over the past five
years, including developing a fast and flexible approach to quality
video newsgathering on a cost base suited to next generation provision.
We have also established a new "digital pool" with Downing
Street, Whitehall, Buckingham Palace and the UK's major political
parties to ensure that industry participants and their audiences
gain access to national news events in video. This sits outside
the current broadcast pool and affords access to a range of newspaper
and digital-only clients, and their audiences, previously excluded
by existing broadcast arrangements.
4. We have a long-established relationship
with, and understanding of, the requirements of local and national
news providers. Our delivery system links to every daily newspaper,
broadcast newsroom and most digital news providers in the UK,
supplying a flexible, high-quality communications network and
distribution infrastructure.
THE MARKET
CONTEXT
5. The news media are strongly interconnected,
with local and regional news providers reporting at a local level
and investing in local newsgathering and journalism training.
National media outlets rely upon the contributions made by these
providers, with many stories originating locally before being
picked up by national media and many journalists at national outlets
coming through from the regions. The local and regional media
provide a trusted source of public service information and accountability
for local communities and it is vital that this role continues.
6. The news market is currently experiencing
a period of structural change and cyclical downturn, with local
and regional television, print and radio facing significant commercial
pressures and seeking to realign their cost bases with a more
challenging market environment. As well as dealing with the pressures
felt by their traditional markets, these news outlets face the
challenge of investing in multimedia to meet audience need for
content on new platforms. New forms of news provision such as
digital media aggregators and blogs are evolving rapidly, but
many of these rely on existing news providers and, in general,
do not themselves invest in local newsgathering or journalism.
7. In light of these challenges, the Culture,
Media and Sport Committee inquiry is timely. Through our relationships
with print, TV, radio and online media outlets, the Press Association
is acutely aware of the issues being faced by the industry. We
would like to make recommendations to the committee in the following
areas: independently funded news consortia; BBC partnership proposals;
local democracy and public service reporting; and training.
INDEPENDENTLY FUNDED
NEWS CONSORTIA
8. The Press Association strongly supports
Ofcom's proposals for independently funded news consortia to provide
regional news on ITV or any new commercially funded public service
institution.
9. As Ofcom has made clear, it is essential
that any proposed solution for the future of regional and local
television news should not focus only on broadcast news programming,
but on delivering local and regional news content on all platforms.
Proposals should take into account the complex interplays between
news services in a converged multimedia and increasingly interconnected
market.
10. Independently funded news consortia
could play an important role in supporting the development of
multimedia newsrooms in the nations and regions, helping local
and regional news providers to invest in new forms of newsgathering
and journalism. This approach will help to ensure the provision
of an alternative source of news to the BBC in the devolved nations
and English regions—essential for plurality.
11. We agree with Ofcom that this will require
funding from Government—which could play an important role
in supporting the wider market and help to build new skills and
capabilities.
12. While the proposals will not solve all
the issues currently faced by the local and regional media, they
will provide a level of support and encouragement for organisations
to diversify into multi-platform providers.
13. Through the digital network we already
have in place with every print, broadcast and online newsroom,
the Press Association can play a central role in coordinating
shared resources with news consortia across the regions. This
would provide a networked infrastructure for the delivery of multimedia
content.
14. The Press Association is ideally positioned
to play a key role in video newsgathering for the consortia. In
addition to existing news video services, we recently launched
a "video wire" providing raw footage of the day's main
diary stories and non-exclusive events. Supplied as an end-to-end
digital service, the wire provides high quality video without
the costs usually associated with broadcast newsgathering. Working
with an agency video gathering service would allow consortia members
and others to focus their resources on distinctive journalism
and enable plurality. For regional newspapers, we have offered
the video wire service free on a six-month trial basis to help
stimulate development of multimedia services.
BBC PARTNERSHIP PROPOSALS
15. The Press Association is concerned that
free content sharing—or "dumping"—by the
BBC could distort the market and have very damaging implications
for commercial news provision.
16. The news market would see a reduction
in diversity and greater homogeneity, with providers only having
access to BBC content which they are unable to monetise. Content
sharing will set the BBC up as an agency provider of video news,
a role currently fulfilled by the Press Association.
17. The BBC has already conceded, through
its MOU with ITV, that video content around core diary and non-exclusive
events does not need to be gathered by more than one news organisation.
The Press Association agrees that duplication of newsgathering
around these stories soaks up precious resources that could be
applied elsewhere to help differentiate news output. The BBC could
support plurality by outsourcing a percentage of its newsgathering
operation to commercial providers. This model could see the BBC
contributing to core video newsgathering by an agency, which also
supplies video content to local and regional media companies,
providing better value to the BBC and licence fee payers.
18. However, we believe there are many ways
in which the BBC could work with the industry to provide value
to local and regional media. Proposals for knowledge sharing and
collaborative working could include:
— Sharing audience and usability research.
— Sharing online usage data.
— Developing solutions on technical infrastructure.
— Developing common standards for metadata
and tagging.
As news providers enter a new era of newsgathering
and provision, the Press Association would welcome the opportunity
to work with the BBC and others on industry standards which will
allow the free flow of information between providers and audiences.
LOCAL DEMOCRACY
AND PUBLIC
SERVICE REPORTING
19. The Press Association recognises that
there are growing concerns around the coverage of fundamental
issues of public interest, such as the administration of local
justice, scrutiny of local decision-making and community engagement.
As news organisations face unprecedented change, there is anecdotal
evidence that this key function of the news media is being eroded,
leaving a deficit in reporting of the function of public institutions
and the democratic process.
20. If council-run newspapers were to become
the only source of information on local authority issues in some
parts of the country this has worrying implications for holding
public institutions to account.
21. We are not aware of any comprehensive
research into the extent of the issue. We would recommend the
setting up of a review body to assess the scale of the problem
and investigate possible solutions. A review should consider provision
of public service reporting in a digital Britain—what information
is relevant to the public in a multi-platform, digital environment.
This should include data as well as news reporting.
22. One possible solution could be contestable
public funding for central news and information gathering from
the courts and other institutions. Supplying news organisations
and information providers with this core reporting and data would
allow them to continue to inform and engage the public as well
as focus on delivering plural and creative market solutions. The
format for this information would be informed by the review body
- a thorough assessment of the situation is essential before public
funding on a UK-wide basis could be considered.
TRAINING
23. The structural change being experienced
by the news industry and the emergence of independently funded
news consortia will require major re-skilling of regional and
local print journalists to give them the skills to operate in
multi-platform businesses. The Press Association's journalism
training arm has already trained 500 journalists from print
media outlets in multimedia skills. All our training is currently
provided at full cost to our clients with no direct support from
Government, brokerages such as Train to Gain, or the Learning
and Skills Council. The Government could support the efforts of
local and regional news providers to invest in training and in
the development of new skills and capabilities by creating incentives
such as tax credits.
May 2009
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