Memorandum by the Newspaper Society
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
AND THE
NEWS
1. How and why have the agendas of news providers
changed? How has the content of news programmes and newspapers
altered over the years?
1.1 Regional and local newspapers have an
unswerving commitment to the provision of local news, information,
opinion, discussion, action, campaign, entertainment and advertising
services to their local communities.
1.2 They maintain their unique investment
in local news provision, despite the ever growing competition
that they face for the advertising revenue that underpins the
sector.
1.3 A quarter of the entire regional press
workforce is focussed on its editorial activities. Consumers say
that local newspapers are the leading source of local news and
information in regular use (New News, Future News, Ofcom)
and the best (YouGov Survey, Press Gazette, 2007). Readers
trust the news they obtain from their local newspaper above other
media (Consumers' Choice V: TNS Media; NS). Regional newspaper
advertising is wanted, read and acted upon. (The Wanted Ads
GfK NOP;Ipsos MORI;NS).
1.4 The industry's development relies upon
maintaining that trust, day by day, in both its long established
titles and their new services, branded with their name.
1.5 The regional and local press agenda
is unchanged, although publishers continue ever innovative in
the manner of its delivery.
1.6 The industry's strength is its provision
of local news and information, by local journalists and other
local residents, for their local communities, by local media organisations
rooted in that locality for generations.
1.7 Regional and local publishers now have
multimedia portfolios, based around thirteen hundred local and
regional newspapers, eleven hundred websites, many with video
streaming and online audiovisual services, variety of online services,
mobile telephone services, seven hundred and fifty magazines,
thirty six local radio stations and two television channels, available
via terrestrial, satellite, cable services and the internet.
1.8 Publishers have launched new publications,
including free daily newspapers, free city centre editions, free
commuter editions, editions in various languages. Websites, blogs,
podcasts, SMS services via mobile phones, e-editions, interactive
news and classified advertising sites allow people not just to
access the editorial and advertising content that they want how,
where and when they want it but to get directly involved with
their newspaper, providing multi-media contributions and developing
online communities. Video streaming and online audiovisual services
are used by an increasing number of publishers, to provide news,
sport and local information.
1.9 Digital developments have enabled a
new depth and texture of editorial coverage. News is now broken
online, not just by text, graphics and still photography but also
by audiovisual reports. These will be followed by more detailed
analysis in print, which might be supplemented in turn by further
online editorial background information, updates, contributions
and comment, plus links to connected stories produced by the publication,
and information about access to publicly available source material.
1.10 Newspapers are exploring ways of broadening
their news services: during the recent floods, newspapers' websites
across the affected areas provided vital updates from rising river
levels to the location of the next drinking water delivery; Plymouth
families of servicemen viewed headcam footage relayed by the Herald's
reporter, who was accompanying the forces on the frontline in
Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, (footage subsequently adopted by
the army to familiarise families with service life); Kent Messenger
Group's mail subscriptions are now supplemented by digital editions
of twenty of its titles, which provide audio versions of stories
and translations into eleven languages.
1.11 The local newspaper now penetrates
even deeper into the local community—companies are rolling
out new niche publications, very local editions, hyper local websites
all of which enable the supply of tailored, relevant editorial
and advertising content for the postcode areas which they serve
or the specific interests shared by members of the local community.
1.12 The industry faces fierce competition
as other media, new and traditional, expand into the local advertising
market. But none of these undertake comparable investment in local
news coverage and local information services. Indeed, Ofcom has
acknowledged that partnership with local newspapers is often sought
by radio concerns, because of its local news provision, in order
to bolster their local credentials. Ofcom has also suggested that
the survival of local television news might depend upon links
with local newspapers, perhaps in conjunction with broadband services
(New News, Future News). The BBC has said that it could
not replicate the depth of local news generated by the local press
and has also suggested partnerships so that its services could
benefit from the local newspapers' journalism. Yet further fragmentation
of the audience by publicly funded organisations, be it BBC or
others, would threaten the commercial foundations of those services
and the regional media companies that provide them.
2. How is the way that people access news
gathering changing? The Committee is interested in national and
regional trends and figures for television, radio, newspaper and
on-line news consumption
2.1 Regional and local newspapers are read
by over 40 million British adults. 83.9% of all British adults
(40 million people) read a regional newspaper, compared with 64.9%
who read a national newspaper. Total readership has increased
by 939,000 adult readers in the last 10 years. Regional press
has a high solus readership; 28.1% of those who read a regional
newspaper do not read a national title. Readership of weekly paid-for
titles alone have grown by 10.4% over the past decade.
Source: BMRB/TGI 2007
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| | Any regional newspaper
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| All adult coverage | 83.9%
|
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Coverage of men and women is very similar
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| Coverage by sex | Any regional newspaper
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| Men | 84.2%
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| Women | 83.6%
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Coverage of all age groups is very high, with a slight
bias towards the older, more affluent age groups
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| Coverage by age | Any regional newspaper
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| 15-24 | 78.6%
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| 25-34 | 78.3%
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| 35-44 | 84.5%
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| 45-54 | 86.2%
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| 55-64 | 87.2%
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| 65+ | 87.8%
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2.2 The industry sells and distributes over 65 million
newspapers every week (AA Yearbook 2007).
2.3 The majority of regional newspaper circulation and
distribution (ABC/VFD) figures are released by the Audit Bureau
of Circulations twice a year. Others are independently audited.
2.4 There are just over 1,300 regional and local newspapers
in the UK today, including 113 dailies, (94 paid, 19 free), 19
Sundays, 527 paid weeklies, and 651 free weekly newspapers. A
breakdown of titles with their audited circulation is shown below:
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| Daily Titles | Paid Dailies
| 94 |
| Free Dailies
| 19 |
| Sunday Titles | Paid Sundays
| 11 |
| Free Sundays
| 8 |
| Weekly Paid Titles | | 527
|
| Weekly Free Titles | | 651
|
| Total |
1,310 |
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| Source: ABC/VFD/NS database as at 1 August 2007.
| |
2.5 There are changes in the way that people use local
media. The internet is becoming a part of everyday life for some
sectors of the population, with the use of digital media likely
only to accelerate with the benefit of broadband connections to
the home.
2.6 As outlined above, regional publishers are evolving
from local newspaper companies to local media companies, but continue
to concentrate on the provision of local content, for consumption
in whatever way the individual consumer might consider the most
convenient and conducive at the particular time.
2.7 The Newspaper Society is developing with JICREG and
ABC audience measurement across the industry's print and electronic
publications, providing a multimedia audience currency and expanded
database of print and internet audiences. Examples of regional
newspaper companies' multi media portfolios can be viewed on the
NS website.
2.8 Regional newspaper companies report continued rapid
growth in page impressions and unique users of their websites,
underlining the importance of the internet as a medium for news
and communication for their local communities—the increase
in total audience in a daily evening centre can be as high as
50%. They report increased interaction between newspaper and website,
which assists rather than damages sales.
3. How has the process of newsgathering changed? The Committee
is interested in the process of news production, the prioritisation
of budgets and the deployment of journalistic resources
3.1 Almost 50,000 people work in the regional press;
a quarter of these are editorial staff (NS: Analysis of the
Annual Regional Press Survey findings for 2006). Publishers
are still the sole providers of local journalism of any depth,
covering the most local of content relevant to their audience's
lives. The regional press is still the main trainer for the newspaper
industry's journalists, from investment in university chairs of
journalism to dedicated training schemes for school leavers, graduate
entry, based around the company's own scheme or national qualifications.
Media diversification might require new skills, but media companies'
new and existing staff are and will be trained to ensure the best
development of the particular potential of any media platform,
whether they work exclusively for one or across media platforms.
3.2 The development of companies' multi-media portfolios
inevitably involves developments in the newsgathering process.
The converged newsroom—print, television and website—has
been established by the Manchester Evening News, the Greater Manchester
weekly newspapers, manchesteronline and Channel M television (available
to the city via terrestrial, cable and satellite broadcast and
internet). Their editorial news and information can therefore
be disseminated to their audience and readers as soon as possible
via the most appropriate media platform in the most suitable way.
Johnston Press reports that its `newsroom of the future' project
in Preston has completely restructured the way in which that centre
gathers, processes and disseminates news and related content,
transforming it into a genuine multi-media news operation. The
template is to be rolled out across all the Group's core news
operations with the objective of attracting further rapid growth
in people attracted to their local websites. Trinity Mirror Regionals
division is moving forward its "re-inventing the newsroom"
initiative from traditional print media into multi- media hub.
Independent publishers of weekly local newspapers, such as the
Newbury Weekly News, were amongst the first to recognise the multi-media
potential of complementary websites, with journalists dedicated
to its development.
4. What is the impact of the concentration of media ownership
on the balance and diversity of opinion seen in the news? Does
ownership have an impact on editorial priorities and on news values
such as fairness, accuracy and impartiality?
4.1 The regional and local newspaper industry upholds
the principle of editorial independence. Local and regional newspaper
proprietors do not—and indeed in practice could not—dictate
the editorial and news content of their newspaper titles or other
media.
4.2 Regional media companies' newspaper and cross-media
ownership transactions have been subjected to rigorous scrutiny
which has detected no cause for concern. Prior to the Communications
Act 2003, these were subject to automatic examination. Under the
Fair Trading Act 1973 newspaper publishers uniquely required the
prior consent of the Secretary of State to transactions above
a certain circulation threshold, which could often only be given
after a full MMC/CC inquiry. This required a full examination
of the public interest in respect of the implications of the proposed
ownership change on editorial activities and news provision. The
industry had also campaigned successfully for local and regional
newspaper publishers to be able to own broadcasting outlets within
their titles' core circulation areas, although they remained subject
to public interest tests under the Broadcasting Acts of 1990 and
1996. Yet the rarity of any cause for concern led to some relaxation
of ownership regulation under the Communications Act 2003. Under
the new regime, the media industry is still subject to more rigorous
controls than any other industry save defence, as the Secretary
of State can intervene on public interest grounds in the most
local of transfers. To date, no transaction involving any local
newspaper company has triggered concern.
4.3 Newspapers and their online versions are not of course
subject to the same content controls as the broadcast news media
under the Communications Act 2003 and Ofcom or the BBC Charter.
The Newspaper Society has consistently opposed any proposals for
special statutory or co-regulatory controls over newspaper and
internet content. As the media channels proliferate and citizen's
access to diverse sources of information grows ever wider, there
is no justification for tighter controls over print and online
media. Regional and local media must remain free of state imposed
constraints.
4.4 Newspapers, online and print, are still subject to
the complex restraints of the general law and additional voluntary
restraints of the Editors' Code of Practice upheld by the Press
Complaints Commission. Otherwise their independence from state
control and their freedom to investigate, campaign, report, publish,
to receive and impart information, opinion, comment and to provoke
debate are essential features of democratic society.
5. How should the public interest be protected and defined
in terms of news provision? Are the public interest considerations
set down for Ofcom in the Communications Act 2003 enough to ensure
a plurality of debating voices in the UK news media?
5.1 As described above, it is essential that the state
should not impose controls over newspaper and online news. Broadcasting
or co-regulatory controls must not be extended to new media. The
NS supported the UK government's opposition to unnecessary and
unjustified extension of broadcast controls by the EU during its
review of the TV without frontiers directive. The audiovisual
media services directive exempts electronic versions of newspapers.
We trust that the UK government will honour its commitment to
light touch regulation in implementing the revised directive.
5.2 The fragmentation of the media and growth of the
internet is increasing plurality and diversity. Barriers to entry,
whether for publishing newspapers or establishing websites, have
never been lower. There is a proliferation of channels through
which content, comment and debate can proliferate.
5.3 Local news remains a vital component in the media
mix and the regional press invests an unparalleled amount in local
journalism. This is funded by advertising revenues which, in turn,
are under increasing threat from other media, most notably the
internet, none of which invest anything in local newsgathering.
Industry consolidation has enabled economies of scale to be achieved
in the production and administrative processes which, in turn,
has resulted in a stronger industry, more able to survive the
competitive challenges whilst maintaining its heavy investment
in local journalism.
5.4 The industry supports further liberalisation of the
media ownership regulatory framework. The justification for special
controls over media transactions cannot be sustained. Media ownership
and transactions should be treated in the same way as other industries'
and subject only to general competition law.
The Newspaper Society would be pleased to submit more detailed
views on the regulation of media ownership to the second part
of the Committee's enquiry.
29 August 2007
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