Independently financed regional news programmes on ITV could be piloted as early as 2010, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
In the Government’s response to the consultation on the future of news in the nations and regions, it proposes they be funded from “the proportion of the licence fee set aside for the Digital Switchover” although no final decision’s expected until 2013.
The 3 pilot sites will be in Scotland, Wales and one English region, which will be announced before Christmas.
“The pressures affecting television news has meant some ITV regions have already merged news operations, closed studios and laid off editorial and production staff. The quality and localness of regional news on ITV has suffered,” it says in the report.
“The print and the radio industries are facing similar pressures. Unless we take action, there is a high risk that high quality, professional regional news in England and news in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will not be provided other than by the BBC.”
The new phrase is Independently Funded News Consortia, or IFNCs.
The DCMS argues that IFNCs could be funded through the 3.5% of the Licence Fee which is currently being used to help elderly and vulnerable people with the digital switchover.
The timetable for change has been set out as follows:
- DCMS to appoint an independent selection panel later this month who will oversee the tendering and evaluation process. - A pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) to follow later this month (November) inviting bids from Scotland and Wales. - A decision on the English region to host the pilot to be made by Christmas. - The panel to select bidders to go forward to the second stage after Christmas with the submission of final tenders by the end of February 2010. - The selection panel to then evaluate the bids and make a recommendation to the Secretary of State on three winning bids in Scotland, Wales and the English region in March 2010. - Contracts and launch of the pilots then follows.
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