Editorial / A strong local media is vital for the well-being of communities, in Shetland and elsewhere
SHETLAND News has so far stayed clear of commenting publicly on the recent discussions around local media amid The Shetland Times’ financial difficulties and the prospect of the islands losing its long-established weekly newspaper.
However, following a jibe from the paper about our coverage last week, we feel the need to state our position and correct a few inaccuracies and misconceptions circulating in the community.
First, and most importantly, we take no joy from seeing the paper and the wider company struggling and feel genuinely sorry for the employees who are facing uncertainty.
The possible loss of The Shetland Times as a printed newspaper would mark the end of an era; Shetland would lose an institution with a defining influence well beyond the shores of these isles.
But the ‘times they are a changin’, as Smirk pointed out in his cartoon on Friday. Hundreds of local newspapers up and down the country have had to close over the last decade as readers move online, mainly to social media platforms. This is especially the case for the younger generation.
Over the last 22 years Shetland News has gradually built a business that is finally viable and has over the years become a community asset. We are immensely proud of what we have achieved, but this has not always been an easy journey and there has never been a guarantee that we would succeed.
However, Shetland News is not “subsidised” by the BBC as was incorrectly stated on the paper’s website on Friday.
What The Shetland Times referred to is the BBC-funded local democracy reporting scheme, a commercial contract, which we applied for first in 2017 and again in 2020.
Introduced to expand reporting from relevant democratic institutions such as councils, health boards etc, the BBC pays for 165 local democracy reporters nationally, based at local news organisations, to provide impartial coverage which is pooled and made available to more than 1,000 news outlets to use free of charge.
Shetland News holds half of such a post, with Chris Cope as the named local democracy reporter. He is required to file around 20 local democracy stories per month which are regularly used by other outlets such as BBC Radio Shetland, SIBC, the Press & Journal and STV.
The Shetland Times has also signed up to this scheme and has access to all this material free of charge, but has so far decided not to use any of it. The only condition for usage is to give Chris a by-line as the local democracy reporter.
Shetland News has just been successful in the latest tendering round, which will see the continuation of this service until at least the end of 2027.
Further, social media and the widespread attitude that ‘I get my news from Facebook’ is a problem for us as it is for The Shetland Times, and for media publications around the country.
Advertising on Facebook or any other social media platform to promote a local product or event means money leaves through the soothmooth to line the pockets of American multi-billionaires.
It’s easy to do, but it is not local – at least not financially.
Impartial reporting on local affairs is important for local communities – be it in print, online or broadcast media. But it needs to be funded properly, journalists need to be given time to research stories thoroughly, we need to speak to all sides involved in a story, and often we need to track down people who don’t want to speak to us. All this is part of a job we are passionate about.
But we need our readers to be willing to pay for a service we and other media deliver. Communities need a diverse and high-quality local media, and Shetland has always been blessed to have that.
For Shetland News, we have developed a unique scheme which allows readers to contribute financially through a voluntary subscription fee, which in turn helps pay for our service and ensures that it stays free of charge for everybody.
At the moment we have around 600 supporters, and a few more would be hugely appreciated. You can sign up here.
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