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December 16, 2010

Martyn Lewis slams national coverage of voluntary sector

By Sam Francis

Former ITN and BBC broadcaster Martyn Lewis has criticised the UK media for its lack of coverage of the voluntary sector, the Civil Society website reported.

Speaking at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations‘ Parliamentary Dinner on Tuesday, Lewis complained that while regional media outlets were paying attention to the Big Society initiative, it had been largely ignored in the national media.

Lewis, who is the new chair of NCVO, said:

“I was struck when Downing Street announced the Big Society awards and there was hardly any media coverage and no television coverage.

“Local coverage is usually good, but national coverage is virtually non-existent – how are we going to build the Big Society if the trailblazers in voluntary and social enterprises continue to be largely ignored by the national media?”

Lewis went on to suggest that for every negative story in the media a few lines should always be devoted to what was being done to tackle the problem that was being highlighted.

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