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OMC09: Local media plight must rise up political agenda, says Burnham

Posted: 22/01/09 By: Laura Oliver

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The plight of local media needs to move up the political agenda, the UK's secretary of state for culture, media and sport told an industry gathering today.

State aid for the local newspaper industry in particular, however, is seen as 'antithetical to the lifeblood' industry, Andy Burnham told the Oxford Media Convention.

But referring to yesterday's public service broadcasting review from Ofcom, Burnham said a national network of local consortia was a potential option.

"Is it time to develop a sensible strategy that uses the converging nature of the journalism to sustain a vital local news media?" he said.

"I just think more regionally based partnerships media, industries not working alone and bringing people together. There's clearly some potential there."

Media groups could partner with community groups, the private sector and with 'proper safeguards' the public sector, he added.

There is potential for a national network of local media consortia, he added, which would help create new entry points for young people and those seeking jobs in the local media.

"We must break a culture in the media where jobs in the media go to the people whose parents have contacts for internships or where they can afford to support people in unpaid positions," he said.

In response to a question from National Union of Journalists (NUJ) general secretary Jeremy Dear, Burnham said he understood the pressures faced by local journalists, adding that his first job out of university was as an unpaid local newspaper journalist brought in to replace a redundant member of staff.

Listen to the full audio of Burnham's speech below:

Journalism.co.uk OMC '09 coverage: Twitter stream for the chat surrounding today’s Oxford Media Convention on the blog; news on the main site and on the Editors' Blog; follow live, via @journalism_live on Twitter.

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