Further written evidence from Below the
Radar
Thank you for your invitation to appear before
the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.
We are very keen to do so, as we would very
much like to present our specific ideas for putting truly local
news onscreen, and particularly online, from across Northern Ireland.
We believe that in the present, rapidly evolving,
media environment there is already a real and forensically-demonstrable
democratic deficit, where resource constraints across the whole
media industry have led to markedly decreased coverage of the
devolved institutions as well as news outside Belfast. We believe
that academic research could demonstrate that. We therefore suggest
specifically local (as opposed to regional) news as a manageable
area where there is a demonstrable need, and practical possibility,
for a public intervention in the coming months.
We also believe that this case could be convincingly
and evidentially presented to the DCMS, and that if sufficient
weight of Northern Ireland political opinion were behind it, there
may be a possibility of at least partially reversing the decision
to make Northern Ireland the one nation in the United Kingdom
not to have been offered any resources for a pilot project under
Digital Britain, and still less so for politicians to willingly
embrace that.
We believe Northern Ireland could get the money
for mini-pilot, looking at a mainly online local news service,
with certain tie-ins to the existing Channel 3 news.
So this is not about supplanting UTV's service:
this is about supplementing UTV, in that a wholly or partially
online solution could provide an excellent supplement to the existing
local coverage, whilst radically increasing the volume of material
seen from and in the regions.
That in turn would create an excellent, up-and-running
model for analysis when, in 2012 or 2014, under current plans
longer term news arrangements are tendered out. Without such a
pilot, the only tested model, uniquely to Northern Ireland and
unlike England, Scotland or Wales, would then be the incumbent
ITV supplier of 55 years standing. And as is beyond doubt, ITV
itself is currently examining where to take its model over the
next few years, and it must be the case that Northern Ireland
will benefit from options.
Unfortunately, the date you proposed is not
possible for either Bob Geldof (who is in Asia that week) or for
us. We are welcoming by long arrangement some key UK broadcasters
to Belfast, and you will understand I am sure that it is important
to take such opportunities to develop programme sales into the
networks.
However, assuming Wednesday afternoons are the
time you might be able to accommodate us, the week after would
be possible for us (though again not Bob, who is again travelling.)
Perhaps you would let us know therefore whether
25 November or 2 December would be suitable.
And in the meantime, we will write to the DCMS
with our proposal for a local news online pilot, and we will make
the letter available to you as well.
October 2009
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