Do Ofcom’s proposals on local radio news fall short of what is needed to restore trust, accountability, and civic value? In its response Better Media stresses that local means local: news must be gathered and produced within the communities it serves. The call is for more creative and innovative thinking, centred on decentralisation, subsidiarity, and open data. By building a news commons and supporting smaller providers, Ofcom can move beyond weak, centralised models and instead foster authentic, place-based reporting that strengthens cultural democracy and protects social cohesion.
Ofcom faces a defining challenge in its consultation on local news and information for analogue commercial radio. The brief is to implement Part 5 of the Media Act 2024, yet the current proposals risk falling short of what is needed to rebuild trust, accountability, and civic value in local broadcasting.[1]
Better Media’s core principle is simple: local means local. News for a place must be produced within that place by people rooted in its civic and cultural life. Anything less dilutes accountability and reduces news to a generic product, detached from lived experience.
Decades of deregulation have undermined plurality, replacing reporting with pooled, low-quality bulletins. A duty of local news should be restored as a civic requirement, not treated as a discretionary expense. Licence obligations must prioritise citizens’ access to timely, relevant, place-based reporting.
The missing ingredient is imagination. Policy should promote decentralisation and subsidiarity so decisions and content creation happen at the most local level possible. This empowers smaller providers and civic groups to generate stories that reflect local identities and concerns, rather than defaulting to centrally packaged material.
Open data and Creative Commons principles can underpin a news commons. By designing for transparency, interoperability, and reuse, information can circulate across networks of commercial, civic, and community actors. A commons model turns news from a closed product into shared civic infrastructure, strengthening democratic participation and cultural expression.[2]
The stakes are wider than compliance. Where local news is absent or generic, the vacuum is filled by antagonistic voices and misinformation. This erodes social cohesion and weakens democratic resilience. Trusted, accountable local news is essential public infrastructure.
If incumbent providers cannot meet these obligations, they should step aside so new entrants—local co-ops, community media groups, and civic coalitions—can serve audiences. Licences carry responsibilities. Where they are not met, spectrum and capacity should be reallocated to innovators ready to deliver authentic local journalism.
Ofcom’s task is not to manage decline but to open the door to creativity, decentralisation, and innovation. A news commons, grounded in open data and local accountability, can renew civic trust and ensure that broadcasting remains a shared space for common experiences—rooted in the distinct culture and needs of each place.
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