Read on Twitter
The editor of my local newspaper and former employer @portsmouthnews took to Facebook yesterday to call for more subscribers. It comes as staff are put on furlough & those working given pay cuts. What followed next can be only described as a stream of vitriol from ‘readers’.
‘Should be free to read’ said one comment, echoing some other views. This shows what a challenge it is to get readers to pay for local content - they begrudge paying for something which, until very recently, was free to view.
The fact it costs a lot of money to employ trained journalists to find the very news stories they read on a regular basis, didn’t appear to be an argument which held much weight. Yes, those commenting were only a small sample, but how much do the concerns reflect the readership?
From the comments, many cited an apparent drop in standards. This is the most challenging aspect - how to convince people that what is produced has value?
Others argued they can get local news for free on the BBC, obviously not realising what the licence fee is for. Also, the level of news content provided by local TV and radio is nowhere near the level of local newspapers. They don’t regularly go to cover councils or courts
Others argued #coronavirus coverage should be made free at this moment in time because of the public need to know vital information, which is a valid argument, if it didn’t cost any money to gather that information in the first place.
And finally the inconsistency of paywalls across the country and even in newspaper groups was pointed out. Again, people argued ‘why do we have to pay, when people elsewhere don’t?’ If paywalls are going to work, then does that mean everyone has to turn off the ‘free news’ tap?
So what does the future hold? We don’t have any detailed stats from the paywall schemes across the country, so it’s hard to judge their success. Is it time for more public/private funds to prop up local news?
We already have the BBC local democracy scheme and Facebook community journalists. Surely, it’s time for an Institute for Public Interest News - called for in the Cairncross review - and more public funds to ensure local news is kept alive to hold power to account?
