MPs to hail importance of newspapers in Parliament

Jan 13 2010 by William Green, The Journal

WHERE would we be without a local newspaper? Would you know what the local council or MP was up to and with our money?

Where would that independent voice be – fighting for you and our region?

The Journal’s campaign supporting Northern Rock, for example, has been credited with helping save the bank from permanent closure with the loss of thousands more jobs and a devastating impact on the regional economy.

The Prime Minister has publicly stated it has been an influential campaign and it was clearly heard in Parliament.

More recently this paper has played its part in exposing MPs over their expense claims, along with concerns about how Northumberland council chiefs ended up investing millions of pounds in failed Icelandic banks.

And despite sometimes hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons, dozens of MPs have now signed a Commons motion in support of local and regional newspapers that are facing a tough economic climate and “unfair” competition from rival council-funded publications – such as in Northumberland.

A total of 51 MPs have backed the motion tabled by Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow. More MPs from the region have also pledged their support, with a Parliamentary debate being held today.

The motion says: “Local and regional newspapers have a long track record of serving and being at the heart of their communities; notes that local media are widely acknowledged as the most trusted of all media; further believes that the independence of local media is vitally important to proper scrutiny and accountability.”