Leading Highland politicians call on the Scottish and UK governments to do more to help local media outlets amid the coronavirus outbreak
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Politicians have called for government and local support for regional media outlets which employ hundreds of people across the north amid tough times for the industry due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Many outlets which have been hit by a drop in sales and advertising, say MPs and MSPs.
Now north Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats have separately sought to put the Scottish and UK governments under more pressure to take action and secure the sector.
Last week, the West Highland Free Press suspended printing for the first time in its almost 50-year history until June 5 and will continue with just a “limited online presence”.
The development came as Labour MSPs Rhoda Grant and David Stewart asked the Scottish Government to step in to help the survival of local media.
Mrs Grant has been contacted by newspapers that cannot access any support from the Scottish Government through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Distribution has become harder as some paper shops are closed and generally people are leaving their homes less, Mrs Grant said: “This has further impacted on income streams.”
Mrs Grant has written to finance secretary Kate Forbes and the secretary for culture, tourism and external affairs Fiona Hyslop to ask if funding could be made available for the sector.
She has suggested a number of possible measures like extending business rates relief to media outlets, creating an individual grant system or the Scottish Government could buy advertising space to allow small local businesses to advertise for free.
She said: “Big newspaper corporations will be able to survive this, however, I am worried about the future of the small, local papers within the Highlands and Islands and I believe the Scottish Government could do more to help them through this so that they can continue to print now and for future years to come.”
She also believes the sector cannot take full advantage of the furlough system that is in place because journalists have been listed as key workers by the Westminster government.
Highlands and Islands Tory MSP Donald Cameron has also written to Ms Forbes to urge the government to help local newspapers, radio and online news providers.
He said: “The news media across the Highlands and Islands is providing an essential public service by keeping the public informed about the local impact of the pandemic.
“They are doing a fantastic job but it costs money to source and publish this information at a time when their advertising revenues are being slashed as a result of the emergency.
“I have suggested a number of measures that could be introduced but it is imperative that ministers act quickly or I fear we risk losing an invaluable part of our region’s infrastructure.”
And Highland MP Jamie Stone (Lib Dem) is a leading signatory on a letter composed by the Independent Community News Network (ICNN), which proposes more government advertising for smaller media organisations.
With both governments spending more money on national outlets and broadcast media, the letter notes that it is important that financial support also reaches trusted local media outlets.
After signing the letter, Mr Stone said: "Local papers have an incredibly high readership in the Far North. They play an important role in holding politicians like me to account. The current coronavirus crisis is posing a serious threat to their cash flow as advertising dries up.
“Everyone must do what they can to support local journalism. We cannot risk losing our local press's vital contribution to our community, our culture and our democracy. They are at the frontline of keeping us all informed and connected.
"Support from our community in this trying time will go a long way, but I have signed ICNN's letter because I believe that the government must do their bit as well. I will look to raise this with the government when a digital parliament is up and running."
It all follows regional Tory MSP Edward Mountain's call at the end of March for the public to support local newspapers and media during the pandemic.
At the time, he said: "What is clear to me now is that to cope with the social isolation, that is sensibly being encouraged, is that we continue to get local community news which we know is based on responsible local reporting; this means we should be listening to local radio stations and also buying local papers.
"This is the very media that is under threat at this time because of the loss of advertising. We need to rally round our local media and show how much we need them. Contacting the local papers and buying them is an excellent start, as is listening to radio stations and phoning in to their programmes.
"Let us all continue to use our local news resources because if we don’t, when they are gone it will be too late."
