View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. News
September 10, 2009

NS asks OFT if it will assess impact of council-run papers

By Oliver Luft

The Newspaper Society, the body representing regional publishers, has asked the Office of Fair Trading to examine the impact of council publications on local papers after the Audit Commission declined Lord Carter’s invitation to look at the issue.

Lynne Anderson, NS communications director, wrote to the OFT this week asking if it would take up Carter’s request to look at how local papers were being adversely affected by the emergence of council-run publications.

The body was spurred into action after the Audit Commission chosen to limit the scope of its own inquiry to just assess the value local authorities obtain from their advertising spend.

Anderson wrote: “It would be unfortunate, given the concerns expressed by the OFT, by Digital Britain and by ministers at a senior level within the Government, if the market impact of local authority publications on the commercial local media industry was not examined at all and if no-one was able to make any recommendations to Government on whether constraints should be placed on those local authorities which may be overstepping the mark.”

As part of his final Digital Britain report, then communications minister Lord Carter asked the Audit Commission to undertake a specific inquiry into the prevalence of council run papers and their impact on the regional and local press.

However, the Audit Commission refused to widen the scope of its inquiry beyond assessing the effectiveness of local council advertising.

In a letter to the Newspaper Society in July Steve Bundred, chief executive of the Audit Commission, said its expertise did not lend itself to examining the ‘health of local newspapers or examining the impact of specific local authority practices on commercial bodies.’

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

He added: “This element of the Digital Britain invitation appears better suited to regulators with a specific competition remit.”

Audit Commission, Bundred said, would carry out research that examines the value achieved by council spending on communicating with the public, which would cover funds spent through council newsletters and local papers, income derived from these titles and funds spent on recruitment advertising.

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network