THE decline in local newspapers risks “driving democracy off a cliff”, the chair of a new Scottish media institute has warned.
Former Sunday Herald editor and The National founder Richard Walker warned of the danger of “news deserts” emerging where there is no-one left to champion local communities at the launch of the Scottish Public Interest Journalism Institute (SPIJI).
One study carried out by King’s College London found over two-thirds of local authority districts in the UK are not served by a dedicated local daily newspaper that has a significant presence.
Walker said: "A free, independent media is a cornerstone of democracy. But the business model that once supported public interest journalism has been shattered in recent years by the loss of advertising revenues to social media, search engines, and online advertising platforms, which in turn drastically altered consumer behaviour.
“As a result, we have seen a dramatic decline in public interest journalism in Scotland, with the danger of news deserts where there is no-one left to champion local communities or hold authority to account.
“Without public interest journalism democracy could be driven off a cliff.”
The SPIJI brings together a diverse cross-section of industry leaders, academics, and the National Union of Journalists to explore new ways of supporting and funding public service journalism.
It was launched to act as a focal point for debate and action following a report by the Scottish government’s short life working group on public interest journalism.
The goals include acting as a conduit for grants and financial support for journalism, supporting research into Scotland’s media landscape and monitoring developments and trends in Scottish journalism.
Walker said the institute wanted to remain independent from government and pointed to arm’s length examples such as the state-funded Dutch Journalism Fund.
He added: “But to be successful, we need the support of a wide range of partners who recognise that journalism is a public good at the heart of a thriving, modern democracy.”
