Local authorities encourage investment in local press

Posted by Emily Dilling on April 1, 2009 at 4:40 AM

Public and government representatives urged area authorities to increase the amount of public notices they place in local papers at a recent Manchester Town Hall meeting, HoldtheFrontPage.co.uk reported.

Participants in the meeting debated MEN Media's proposal to cut 78 editorial positions. The discussion also addressed the conflict between councils and local press, which are seen as being "penalised" for publishing stories critical of councils.

Jim Battle, the deputy leader of Manchester City Council, urged all councils to invest in local media and journalists, HoldtheFrontPage.co.uk reported.

The NUJ Vice President Peter Murray spoke of the importance of defending media jobs, calling it "part of a fight to retain strong public services, under attack from executives who are more concerned about balance sheets, shareholders, or government targets than they are about our role as journalists to scrutinise and question those who hold public office."