Green Paper – Regional Response

The Newspaper Society has issued its own response to the Government’s Green Paper; a “guarded welcome”. The society welcomes the Government’s attempts to remove the restrictions which “isolate each media sector in its own corner”; it also said that the new concept of revenue or audience share, with weightings, will be complex and difficult to devise, but is generally welcomed by the regionals.

However, Dugal Nisbet-Smith, director, said “We are concerned that the proposals, in the long term, could discriminate against regional and local newspapers. Whereas, under the proposals, national newspapers with less than 20% of the national market share could own outright commercial TV and radio stations in the regions, regional newspaper companies with more than 30% of the relevant market area would be denied such diversification”. “We therefore hope that, during the consultation period, the Government will recognise the very real competition which exists between national and regional newspapers outside London. It would be unacceptable to most regional newspapers, for example, if a national newspaper outselling the regional newspaper in any particular area were able to buy the commercial broadcasting stations in that area while the local newspaper was blocked arbitrarily from doing the same.”

Newspaper Society: 0171 636 7014