Birmingham and Coventry National Union of Journalists

Early Day Motion 1054: Local Newspaper Industry
That this House recognises the contribution of local newspapers and local journalism to public debate; further recognises the often excellent standard of work by local journalists, particularly in the field of investigative journalism;

notes the vital contribution of local journalism to local democracy, through holding local government and elected representatives to account; appreciates that many local newspapers are facing financial difficulties and budget constraints;

further notes with regret the announcement that newspaper and magazine publisher Trinity Mirror plc has proposed a new round of editorial cost-cutting proposals to axe 92 jobs across regional titles including Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff, Manchester and Newcastle

and that the cuts proposed in Coventry are twice as severe as the national proposals; further notes that this is the third major jobs cull in five years to affect Trinity Mirror plc staff in Coventry and Birmingham;

further notes the proposal by the Coventry Telegraph to remove a long-standing tradition of political journalism in Coventry by making the post of political correspondent redundant whilst Trinity Mirror titles in other major cities would retain their political specialists;

further notes that Coventry's local feature writing will be replaced by features written in Liverpool and shared across Trinity Mirror's regional titles nationwide;

fears that these proposals will overly stretch staff and that the quality of local journalism will suffer as a result;

believes that local journalism should be protected and encouraged; and calls on the Government to demonstrate its support for local journalism.

Sponsors: Cunningham, Jim/ Robinson, Geoffrey / Russell, Bob

House of Commons: 07/02/2013