Sly Bailey attacks government plan to reform local media ownership rules
The Trinity Mirror chief executive, Sly Bailey, has hit out at the coalition government's plan to deregulate cross-media ownership rules.
Trinity Mirror was a member of the consortium lined up to run the pilot to to provide TV news for the north-east and Border region, under Labour's plan to provide a series of replacements for ITV's service in different areas of the country.
Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, confirmed in his first media policy speech yesterday that Labour's plan for independently financed news consortiums would be scrapped.
The government has instead asked the head of investment banking at Lazards, Nick Shott, to conduct an "independent commercial assessment" of local TV, while Ofcom is to look at scrapping local cross-media ownership rules.
In opposition the Conservatives championed a plan to launch up to 81 local media companies that would deliver TV, print and online services to regional and local communities.
Bailey said that while the government's decision to scrap Labour's solution "did not come as a surprise", she believed there was merit in the IFNC concept.
Trinity Mirror was a member of the consortium lined up to run the pilot to to provide TV news for the north-east and Border region, under Labour's plan to provide a series of replacements for ITV's service in different areas of the country.
Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, confirmed in his first media policy speech yesterday that Labour's plan for independently financed news consortiums would be scrapped.
The government has instead asked the head of investment banking at Lazards, Nick Shott, to conduct an "independent commercial assessment" of local TV, while Ofcom is to look at scrapping local cross-media ownership rules.
In opposition the Conservatives championed a plan to launch up to 81 local media companies that would deliver TV, print and online services to regional and local communities.
Bailey said that while the government's decision to scrap Labour's solution "did not come as a surprise", she believed there was merit in the IFNC concept.
"We believed that the IFNCs' capacity to tap the talent and expertise of regional media companies to provide a viable alternative to the BBC's local news made sense for everyone," she added. "It is worth noting at this point that we don't see 'City TV' as a viable proposition. Our research suggests that the costs are too high and the revenues too low to support a sustainable business model."
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