[comtv-l] The Guardian, 12/10/09: News of your world

[CMA-L]

Local news coverage could get a new lease of life if TV, radio,
newspapers and other media groups get public cash to form consortia,
but the scheme is controversial

Asked at last week's Conservative party conference what he wanted his
legacy to be, the first thing that came to the shadow culture
secretary's mind was resolving the future of local TV news. Whether
Jeremy Hunt will have the chance to do that, and whether his plans
stand up to scru tiny, are just two of the many unanswered questions
surrounding the future of regional news.

Media companies are waiting for the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport to flesh out the government's plans to offer public money to
fund such news on the ITV network and beyond. The DCMS received 89
responses to its consultation, which closed last month.

The idea of creating independently financed news consortia (IFNCs) –
alliances of television producers, newspaper groups, radio stations
and websites – is being seen in some quarters as a panacea to solve
the dire problems besetting regional news as advertising revenues dry
up.

But, behind the clamour for public cash, there are doubts about what
the consortia will look like, whether partners from different
traditions can work together and whether an incoming Conservative
government would scrap the idea.

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/12/local-news-consortia-itv

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