<div dir="ltr"><div><div>Dear all<br><br></div>It is disappointing to hear DCMS stopped supporting CMA after over 10 years of funding across two different governments. It is not an unreasonable demand that this funding should be reinstated.<br><br></div><div>Meanwhile
the CMA and its members should surely be doing more to press for an
increase in public funding for the sector as a whole. With the DCMS
announcement yesterday that the government plans to establish a £20m
contestable public service content fund, and the BBC's announcement that
they will fund the costs of 150 journalists in private local commercial
newspapers at a cost of around £8m per annum, why not also replace the
current Community Radio Fund with a better mechanism to fund public
service content and local news carried by community radio stations?<br><br>Culture Secretary statement on the BBC reforms<br><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/culture-secretary-statement-on-the-bbc-reforms" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/culture-secretary-statement-on-the-bbc-reforms</a><br><br>BBC and the News Media Association announce ground-breaking plans for new partnership<br><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/bbc-nma-partnership" target="_blank">http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/bbc-nma-partnership</a><br><br></div><div>Best wishes<br><br></div>Steve</div>