Writing between the lines

An inquiry report published this week by an Assembly committee manages to generate varied coverage within the media. Not too surprising, since the findings are from the Communities and Culture’s Broadcasting Sub-committee who have been looking into future prospects of the Welsh Newspaper Industry.

The generally supportive recommendations to relax cross-ownership restrictions and give a clearer steer on public sector input are reported straightforwardly by BBC Wales and the Beans on Toast. However, the Western Mail opts instead for a provocative headline of Councils criticised for using taxpayers’ cash to produce newspapers and kicks off by stating that “a cross-party group of AMs has attacked councils which use taxpayers’ money to produce their own newspapers".

The odd thing is that none of the committee’s four main recommendations in the official report touch on council newspapers. In fact, only three paragraphs at the end of the 34 page document even mention local authority publications. Yet this reference is apparently enough to prompt a tirade about "the travesty of local councils using taxpayers’ money to masquerade as, and compete directly with, local newspapers” from Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey – and for her staff to dutifully reproduce her comments.

The claim that advertising revenue is being lost to council papers has become a regular refrain from the Society of Editors – although research evidence to support this claim has not even been commissioned let alone published. But even if the trend is real, such a blatant example of skewing a story to suit commercial purposes does little to support the implied argument from proprietors that only newspapers can be trusted with the news.