Culture Secretary singles out Manchester Evening News for ‘defying the odds’ in maiden speech
The new culture secretary has singled out a local newspaper for praise — saying it’s daily proof of why local news matters so much.
Lisa Nandy lavished praise on the Manchester Evening News during a speech at an event to meet leaders from organisations which deal with her new Culture, Media and Sport Department.
She told those present the MEN had ‘defied the odds’ to become one of the ‘most ground-breaking papers in the country.’
Her words came during her first speech as culture secretary, in which she outlined her determination to help culture, media and sports sectors unlock growth.
Ms Nandy also called on DCMS sector to help contribute to the government’s national growth mission, bringing people together and improving living standards in more villages, towns and cities.
Ms Nandy said: “I grew up here in the aftermath of the Moss Side Riots and so it is in my DNA that never again can we be allowed to write off a generation of young people.
“It was that belief that led me into my first job at the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint — where I learnt everything I know about politics from those brave young people — and I feel them walking alongside me as we create a new generation of OnSide Youth Zones — from Wigan to Bolton — and show this generation that they matter to us again.
“From Granada TV and its pioneering journalism, whether the campaign to free the Birmingham Six to the persistent approach to telling the story of Hillsborough and achieving justice for the 96 — to today’s Manchester Evening News that has defied the odds to become one of the most groundbreaking papers in the country and reminds us all why local and regional papers matter so much.”
The event was held in Manchester at the Museum of Science and Industry, with the Ms Nandy putting down a marker that she wanted her department to do great things across the whole UK.
Ms Nandy added: “When we turn to face the nation again in 5 years time, it is our ambition that we will face a self-confident country, at ease with itself, where all our people see themselves in the story we tell ourselves about ourselves as a nation — and our contribution is seen and valued.
“And my message to each and every one of you is that if you share that belief in our country. If you have that zest. If you want to challenge us and are willing to be challenged in turn.
“Then I promise you. That we will walk alongside you. We will have your back. And we will give voice to the country many of us have believed in all our lifetime but never quite yet seen.”
The praise for local journalism will raise hopes that the new Labour government will take swift action to help ensure the future of titles such as the Manchester Evening News, and the hundreds of other titles which have undergone a switch from print to digital in the last two decades.
Indeed, the fact local news was singled out in a short speech spanning the entire DCMS portfolio is being seen as a statement of intent to support local news.
In the run up to the General Election, the News Media Association set out the steps Government could take to improve the fortunes of local news in the UK.
These included:
- Rebalance the digital markets. The passage of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act means that the Competition and Markets Authority will have the tools it needs to level the playing field between publishers and platforms. The new regime must empower local publishers to reap the fair rewards for use of their content by platforms, including AI firms who feed off trusted news.
- Recognising the importance of local media to devolution and local growth by diverting more government advertising spend into local news media. In 2022, the government spent less than three per cent of its advertising budget in local news media compared to 17 per cent spent on Google and Facebook. Some of the funds allocated to the platforms could easily be diverted to local news media;
- Rein in the expansionist ambitions of the BBC and its plans to expand into digital local news markets already well served by commercial providers. Eighty-nine per cent of the public agree that it is not the BBC’s role to replace independent commercial news titles in publishing journalism online;
- Maintain the statutory requirement for public notices to be published in printed local newspapers — a critical platform particularly for vulnerable and elderly groups and those with low levels of digital literacy;
- Consideration should also be given to targeted interventions for the local news sector such as a local journalism tax relief and business rates relief for local titles, allowing publishers to focus even more investment on putting more journalists on the ground, as they transition their businesses to a digital-first future.
