NS Welcomes Eric Pickles’ Announcement

Following the NS meeting with Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles on 17 June, the Department for Communities and Local Government announced a toughening up of rules governing taxpayer-funded council newspapers. It said the goal was to ensure that a robust and healthy independent local press can continue to scrutinise the activities of local councils.

The Government’s announcement and the NS response was covered extensively by the media over the weekend, including BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, national and regional newspapers, and a report broadcast by Channel 4 News featuring interviews with Eric Pickles and Lynne Anderson.

The NS will now have further meetings with the Government on the detail of the rule changes to ensure they are effective in stopping current and future unfair competition by council newspapers.

“Research has shown that the vast majority of people in the UK rely on their independent local paper to keep them informed about local council plans and decisions and to help them make their voice heard on important issues which affect them in their area,” said Lynne Anderson, communications director at the NS. “Independent local papers fulfil a vital democratic role and we need them to be vibrant and economically healthy if they are to continue to do this.

“We therefore hope that local authorities will be encouraged to use the local press – the best read and most trusted source of local news and information – rather than undermining it by setting up rival publications aimed at controlling the media coverage of council activities, diverting advertising away from local newspapers and their websites, and threatening the only voices which can hold local authorities to account.”

• No more ‘propaganda on the rates’ says Pickles (Channel 4 News)
• Rules tightened for council-funded newspapers (BBC Radio 4 Today Programme)
• Comment is Free – Eric Pickles: Town hall freesheets are undermining proper journalism (The Guardian)
• Comment is Free – David Holdstock: Eric Pickles is wrong. Getting rid of local authority newspapers is not the way to save local journalism (The Guardian)
• Eric Pickles bans councils from producing freesheets, which threaten local newspapers (The Telegraph)
• Further background & submissions: NS Calls for Meeting with Eric Pickles on Council Newspapers