Editors ask Burnham to back regional papers

The Society of Editors has written to culture secretary Andy Burnham asking him to support the struggling regional newspaper industry.

In the letter, which outlines how the Government could help the regional press industry, the society has requested that Burnham look at ways of preventing content aggregators from profiting from third-party news content, without paying the companies who spent money generating it.

The Society also wants to Government to discourage the development of local government websites, which it claims competes with local newspapers over regional content, according to reports.

The letter also calls on the Government to advertise jobs in regional papers and recognise that advertising in the local press is in the public interest.

The Society’s letter is in response to Burnham’s recent call to the regional newspaper industry to provide him with a 10-point plan of how the Government can step in and help the sector, which has been hit particularly hard amid the on-going recession.

Burnham’s request is just one of a number of Government-led initiatives that have emerged following Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report – the Office of Fair Trading is also investigating local media ownership rules.

Regional media companies are continuing to protest for a relaxation of rules to encourage consolidation in the industry.

Speaking at a meeting with representatives from regional press firms and Society of Editors last week, Burnham said: “Don’t think you are alone in the wilderness. We are now going to make a concerted effort to this.”