Media Green Paper Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
John Cooper
Main Page: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)Department Debates - View all John Cooper's debates with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Media Green Paper
John Cooper Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Lisa Nandy
I was really struck by that report by the SMF, and I certainly recognise that there is misinformation very close to home. My hon. Friend rightly says that that is not new. In fact, my local police force says that the biggest challenge it faces is misinformation and disinformation online, which leads people to believe that more violent crime is happening than there actually is, and that streets are not safe. It causes serious challenges to social cohesion. Earlier this year, we published the local media strategy, which is the start of our ambition for local media—it is the floor, not the ceiling. There is more we need to do, particularly in the online space, to ensure that publications such as the Liverpool Echo are able to thrive.
John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)
As a former journalist, I salute the Secretary of State’s ambition to leave no one behind, but as the hon. Member for Hexham (Joe Morris) pointed out, the death of terrestrial television risks leaving a lot of people in remote and rural Scotland behind. My constituency has a lot of notspots, and terrestrial television is a key source of news and entertainment. Can I ask the Secretary of State to use her influence in the forthcoming northern powerhouse Cabinet to get broadband rolled out properly across this country?
Lisa Nandy
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to talk about the centrality of broadband access. We are looking really carefully at digital exclusion, and we will make sure that this transition does not leave his constituents behind. I am looking to work with him to make sure that we get this right.