Tech companies should do more to promote local news, says Nandy

Tech giants should help promote stories from local newspapers to help fight disinformation, Lisa Nandy has said.

The Culture Secretary praised local newspapers during a meeting on the fringe of the Labour Party conference on Monday, saying they had played an important during the summer riots.

She said: “We have got to make sure that those local newspapers and regional newspapers are protected, not least because when there was so much disinformation online, it was often local journalists who were first on the scene and saying that’s not what’s happening here.

“They were penetrating that disinformation, mythbusting for people, helping to create calm in communities and we lose them at our peril.”

Ms Nandy, whose department oversees media policy, told the meeting she had kicked off a local and regional news strategy to help support local papers, and was engaging with tech companies to encourage them to give greater prominence to local news stories.

She said: “One of the issues is that the big online companies like the Googles and the Facebooks often don’t promote their content like they promote others.

“We need to provide a fair playing field for local and regional papers.”

Shortly after the election, the Society of Editors wrote to the Prime Minister urging action to protect local newspapers, including finding alternative sources of funding for the sector.

Asked whether she thought there was a case for greater Government funding of local news, Ms Nandy said there was a case but was wary of too much Government involvement in the media.

Saying there had to be a “firewall”, she added: “Unlike the last Tory government I don’t think it’s appropriate at all for the government to be telling newspapers and broadcasters what they can and can’t print, what they can and can’t say, who they can and can’t feature.

“That’s a question for them. Our job is to create the framework in which good journalists can thrive independently of government.”