Trinity Mirror chief says regional press let down by Digital Britain report
Jan 30 2009 by Joanna Geary, Birmingham Post
Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report has been met with a wall of disappointment from those working in the media and digital sectors, with many claiming it either missed the point or failed to be radical enough.
Sly Bailey, chief executive of Birmingham Post parent company Trinity Mirror, said she was frustrated with the report’s failure to address the future of the regional news business.
Ms Bailey said the debate needed to be broadened to take into account the vital role journalists play in a democratic society and the issue of maintaining high-quality journalism in the future.
This included a need to change merger regulations in the regional and national newspaper sector, she added.
In a statement Ms Bailey said: “The thud made by the 80-page Interim Report on Digital Britain as it fell on our desk today was matched only by our hearts sinking as we took stock of its content.
"We are bitterly disappointed that the report makes only passing reference to newspapers – the word is used just four times – and the crushing lack of understanding of the urgency required for changes to merger regulations in the local and regional media sector.”
Ms Bailey said that while Trinity Mirror welcomed the commitment to investigate the potential for change to merger regulations, the process would take too long for the industry.
“Frankly time is running out. Regional newspaper publishers are facing the most challenging times in their history, mergers and combinations of newspaper groups offer the only chance of survival for some titles,” she said. “Merger regulations need to change to enable the regional newspaper industry to survive in the digital age, rather than conspiring to strangling it out of existence.”
Trinity Mirror will be responding to the report and will urge Lord Carter to take its views into account, Ms Bailey said.
On social networking site Twitter, many expressed dismay that the report was not radical enough to make Britain a leader in digital technologies. Ben Whitehouse, of Birmingham (http://twitter.com/benjaminbrum) said: “The aspirations are too low, broadband too slow and there needs to be more creative freedom not a crackdown on ideas.”
Mark Waugh (http://twitter.com/mark_waugh) labelled it “pathetic”, adding: “We’re already way behind many countries. Based on the summary, it [the report] seriously lacks vision.”
Twitter-users also questioned whether the strong support for DAB technology was wise. “The DAB lobby must be very strong,” said Birmingham blogger Chris Unitt (http://twitter.com/ChrisUnitt).
“DAB uses more energy, is worse quality, old tech, few DAB-only station listeners – yet it’s the choice for the future,” said social media consultant and Birmingham Post blogger Jon Bounds (http://twitter.com/bounder).
Digital Birmingham said: “Birmingham welcomes the interim report and its recognition of digital technology as a key driver to economic growth and social inclusion. We welcome the rethink on providing a digital return connection for the TV switchover so that many people excluded can access public services over their TV interactively.”
