On the Scottish IFNC Decision

Brian McNair: Senior managers of Scotland’s main newspaper groups will have enjoyed a more restful weekend than they have had for a long time.

Hot on the heels of the Scottish Government’s announcement that it will, after all, require local authorities to place their public notices in newspapers, thus bolstering print advertising revenue, comes the UK Government’s decision to award the independently funded news consortium Scottish pilot to the bid prepared by Johnston Press, DC Thomson and Herald & Times, in conjunction with TV production company, Mentorn.

Assuming that Labour wins the forthcoming election - and that outcome looks increasingly likely - the Scottish News Consortium will, within a few months, take over the STV news slot with a multi-platform service funded by £19 million of public money over two years. A significant decision, and a surprising one to most observers (including this writer), given the competition presented by STV’s own proposal for a Scottish Six produced in partnership with ITN.

The independent selection panel were evidently unimpressed by the STV-ITN pitch; that their accumulated experience in commercial, public service TV news production made them the best bet to take local TV journalism into the digital era with an hour-long mix of local, UK national and international news.

Instead, Richard Hooper and his fellow panellists went for innovation in the form of the multi-platform model offered by the newspaper groups. This will utilise their combined newsgathering resources and emphasise hyper-localism and audience interactivity to provide what Hooper called a “multi-layered” service.

Congratulations to SNC, then, for persuading the IFNC panel that newspaper groups used to editorialising and partisanship can be trusted to provide impartial public service journalism. And that long-standing rivals in the Scottish newspaper market can work together to produce a new news brand capable of competing with BBC Scotland.

Concerns about cross-ownership of the Scottish news media appear not to have been an issue. On the contrary, this decision points to a consolidated Scottish news sector, with old print enemies coming together to survive the digital challenge. How better to prepare the ground for a merger of the Scotsman and Herald titles than for their managers to learn the art of co-operation on a new venture like this?

The need for radical new thinking by old news providers is no longer resisted, and this decision can be seen as the UK Government’s gesture of support, not just for the struggling Scottish press, but for those media managers prepared to think 'out of the box'.

It does pose an interesting question, though: if the IFNC and all the benefits it can bring are dependent on a Labour victory, will the companies involved feel obliged to endorse the current governing party in the campaign? While Richard Hooper and his team have arrived at their decision independently and on merit, it clearly does incentivise the Scottish press to back Labour in 2010.

Good news for the Scottish newspaper sector, then, as it gains entry to the much prized land of mass audience TV, and an organisational focus for the development of multi-platform journalism in Scotland. As newspaper circulations decline, this new venture will be a lifeline for that sector of Scottish journalism which has been staring into the abyss for some now.

Bad news for STV, which will have to cede valuable prime time to another media company, and explain to its shareholders what went wrong with its bid. For its production staff there is the possibility of at least some continuity, since SNC will wish to make use of their expertise.

As for the public, this decision will be good news if it provides a mechanism for Scottish journalism to embrace the challenges of digital transformation with confidence and purpose, fusing the interactive power of the internet with the audience’s clearly expressed demand for more and better local news coverage.

Let’s be clear, though. The regulatory authorities must ensure that the new venture puts public before private proprietorial interest. Impartiality must be maintained in political coverage. Commitments to editorial quality made in the bidding process and associated lobbying must be adhered to. If Labour wins the election, and the pilot goes ahead, anything less will be a betrayal of the STV audience which stayed loyal to Scotland Today for so long.

Brian McNair is Professor of Journalism & Communication at the University of Strathclyde.