Island Echo travelled to Westminster last week to attend a parliamentary event focused on the future of local journalism across the UK and the challenges facing independent news outlets.
The event, organised by the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) in partnership with the Media All-Party Parliamentary Group, was held at Portcullis House – part of the Houses of Parliament.
Island Echo was 1 of just 6 independent publishers from across the country that was invited to attend the session, which aimed to brief MPs on the current state of local news provision and highlight concerns about the growing number of communities without reliable local journalism.
During the session, attendees were shown a visual and data-driven overview of so-called ‘local news deserts’ and misinformation hotspots across the UK. The presentation explored how media ecosystems vary between areas that are well-served by independent reporting and those with little or no local news coverage.
According to figures presented at the event, around 4.4 million people in the UK currently have no reliable local news provision – a stark contrast to the thriving news sector here on the Isle of Wight.
Joe Robertson, MP for Isle of Wight East, attended the event and spent time with Darren Toogood, Editor/Publisher of Island Echo, learning more about the role the publication plays in keeping residents across the Isle of Wight informed and on the move.
Mr Robertson has said:
“Strong local media is so important for scrutinising local decisions and ensuring the public are aware of what is being done in their name.
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“On the Island we are fortunate to have a competitive and diverse local media environment both online and in hardcopy newsprint. Sadly, this is not true in many other places in the UK where large corporations like Google have squeezed the market.
“I am pleased to be supporting local media in my junior role in Westminster within the shadow culture, media and sport team.”
The Public Interest News Foundation also unveiled an updated national map showing the availability of local news across the UK. The map is intended to help policymakers better understand where gaps in local journalism exist and support discussions about how the sector can be strengthened in the future.
You can learn more about the Public Interest News Foundation at https://www.publicinterestnews.org.uk/.
