Importance of Local Press in Northern Ireland Highlighted in House of Lords

The importance of the local press and the need for liberalisation of the local media merger regime was highlighted in the House of Lords last week.

In a debate on the Economy in Northern Ireland, Lord Black of Brentwood pointed to the "deeply troubling" OFT decision over the Kent Messenger Group's proposed acquisition of seven weekly titles.

He said it was “vital that the UK regulatory regime recognises the realities of today's highly competitive local media markets” and that it did not “continue to block small, family-owned newspaper publishers from developing and growing their businesses in the deeply troubling way that happened only this week in a proposed merger relating to the Kent Messenger Group and Northcliffe Media.”

Lord Black said local papers were providing a significant boost to the private sector highlighted by campaigns such as Local Business Accelerators which he described as an “excellent initiative.”  

He was speaking in response to a question tabled by Lord Lexden asking how the Government planned to encourage the rebalancing of the Northern Ireland economy in order to stimulate private sector growth.

Lord Black said he wished to highlight the role of the creative industries in Northern Ireland's economy saying they “could and should have a vital role to play in rebalancing the economy of the Province.”

He said Northern Ireland was home to a “lively cultural sector” encompassing film, music and TV production. “It also has a vibrant newspaper industry, with over 50 publications throughout the Province. Papers such as the Tyrone Courier have even beaten UK-wide circulation trends. This publication is believed to have doubled its readership in the past 10 years by focusing on key community issues,” he added.

Lord Black said the cultural sector in Northern Ireland faced some serious economic challenges and the newspaper industry was challenged by a reduction in public sector recruitment advertising and the depressed property market which had affected classified advertising revenues. 

“These pressures come at a time when, ironically, weekly newspapers in Northern Ireland are often at the centre of boosting the Province's private sector businesses, while initiatives such as the Newspaper Society's Local Business Accelerators campaign, launched only today and welcomed by the Prime Minister, can play an important part. It is an excellent initiative," he said.

 “Papers such as the Banbridge Leader and the Dromore Leader and the Mid Ulster Mail and Tyrone Times have launched successful business awards, highlighting the strength of local SMEs and the resilience of larger businesses.”

 “A number of things can be done to help strengthen the creative economy, the jobs it supports and the investment it brings, as well as the vital part it plays in the cultural life of Northern Ireland-as the economy is rebalanced.

 “First, it is vital that we do what we can to help the Province's newspaper industry. There are continuing concerns about the threat to statutory public notices in newspapers, a key source of income as well as an essential tool for members of the public and community groups to find out about public events and developments in their area.

“Already local council public notice advertising spend is down 37 per cent in Northern Ireland, which is hitting newspapers hard and opening up a democratic deficit. Further reductions would be intolerable.

“Secondly, I welcome what the Government are doing to help publishers in Northern Ireland, as elsewhere, diversify their businesses. The Government are planning three local TV stations in Northern Ireland and there was considerable interest in the recent visit of the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport to promote those plans, which can help the media in Northern Ireland expand beyond print and offer cross-selling of advertising packages across the full range of media-newspapers, TV, radio and Internet.”

Lord Kilclooney also contributed to the debate: “I declare an interest as chairman of the largest newspaper group in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, employing some 300 people, so I know something of the problems of business in both parts of that island.

“I am delighted to hear the noble Lord, Lord Black, mentioning the Tyrone Courier and certainly he will be well reported in the Tyrone Courier next week because it is the largest weekly newspaper in Northern Ireland. One thing I disagree with him about is that he says the small papers are in trouble. No way-small papers are succeeding.”