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Local media management stifling digital innovation, says industry panel

Management structures at local newspaper publishers are stifling digital innovation, a panel of industry experts said last night.

Speaking at a Frontline Club debate on the future of local media, freelance journalist Jon Slattery, former regional newspaper editor Keith Sutton and media commentator Roy Greenslade suggested that the corporate ownership structure of big regional groups is impeding new experiments in the industry.

Many web-savvy young journalists are not being given the power by management to demonstrate their skills, said Sutton.

"Many journalists would say that the corporatisation of newspapers was their death," added Greenslade.

Decisions about digital media are made at the centre of these groups, stifling innovation at individual titles, he said.

While many journalists are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about working online, management will always ask where the money will come from with digital and social media projects, said Jon Slattery.

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