Lords to hear from the Newspaper Society on media plurality
On Tuesday 29 October, the House of Lords Communications Committee will take evidence from the Newspaper Society, representatives of the regional newspaper industry and Professor Robert Beveridge, as part of their inquiry into the plurality of the media
There is a widely accepted tension between concerns about media concentration on the one hand, and the commercial sustainability of journalism on the other, particularly at the local and regional level.
For this reason, the Newspaper Society, a body which represents the regional newspaper industry, have argued that local and regional media should be exempt from Ofcom's proposed periodic plurality reviews.
At 3.30 pm, the Committee will put questions on these points - as well as other themes arising from considerations of media plurality at the local and regional level - to Adrian Jeaking, Chairman of the Newspaper Society, as well as to Geraldine Allinson, Chairman of the KM Group and Ashley Highfield, Chief Executive Officer of Johnston Press.
Following on, at 4.30 pm, the Committee will discuss the major questions relating to media plurality in Scotland with Professor Robert Beveridge. Now at the University of Nottingham in Ningbo, China, Professor Beveridge is a former member of the BBC Trust Audience Council Scotland and a former Director of the Voice of the Listener and Viewer.
The evidence sessions will take place on Tuesday 29 October from 3.30 pm in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords.
The session will be webcast at www.parliamentlive.tv and is also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.
