Local Newspapers
Debate between Brandon Lewis and Louise Mensch(12 years, 7 months ago)
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Louise Mensch
I agree that half a loaf is better than no bread, but an important part of my speech is to ask the Minister to assess, in his reply, whether direct or indirect Government subsidy ought to be given to our local press. In the Government’s plans for local television stations, for example, an indirect subsidy is proposed, whereby the BBC will be compelled to take content and pay for content arising from local television stations.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has rightly cracked down on local free sheets that, for so long, have been cannibalising at tax and rate payers’ expense the markets for our local papers. Unfortunately, that might have come partially too late to save some papers. The question for the Government is this: is the local press worth having; is the local press worth saving; and can an iPad app ever be a substitute?
Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)
I thank my hon. Friend for being so generous in giving way on a very popular topic. In Great Yarmouth, we have a local newspaper, the Great Yarmouth Mercury, but we also have a daily regional paper, the Eastern Daily Press, that is the biggest selling newspaper—in fact, it outsells all the national dailies. The EDP is a campaigning newspaper, so it clicks in with what the people of Norfolk and north Suffolk are interested in. That is a good example of how a newspaper can move forward without subsidies.
Louise Mensch
The Eastern Daily Press is an absolute star and gem of a newspaper. However, I am sure that my hon. Friend would agree that what he mentions is not a substitute for a properly localised paper that can address the concerns of local people. In my constituency, the glories of Corby and of east Northamptonshire are very different and the concerns of people in east Northants and Corby are extremely different. It is wonderful that we have local papers that cover both areas.