UK FOCUS
news in the UK over a number of years, long before Facebook started. But that said, news changes and the advent of the Internet and social media has meant big disruption to local news. We take our responsibility in this very seriously. “Within the News Partnerships team, we see the core of our mission as a duty to work with the news industry, understanding that there have been, and continue to be, many disrupting forces. We believe that for communities to come together, they need quality journalism and reliable, authentic news and information that is relevant to them. And I’m sure it’s not the only thing we’ll be doing in terms of collaborating with local news going forward.” REACHING OUT One of Facebook’s partners in the Project will be UK mega-publisher Reach (formerly Trinity Mirror). Reach’s titles include the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express , as well as regional titles like the Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Echo . The company also operates multiple digital- only titles, such as Leeds Live , Edinburgh Live and My London . Reach has a massive print legacy, but digital outlets, which have opportunities for video, interactivity and a global reach, are its future. “With our digital presence, we’re reaching more people than ever before in those local communities,” says Karyn Fleeting, Reach’s head of audience engagement. “Technology enables us to connect with people in different ways.” Reach has been one of the biggest recipients of the BBC’s Local Democracy Reporting grants, but this additional boost from Facebook is still sorely needed. “This is going to be absolutely great for us. It will enable us to do more and stretch our resources further,” Fleeting says. “The training is really appealing to us. There is going to be regular training in London, probably at Facebook’s HQ, with the very latest digital tools.” forward, she explains. “For a journalist now, video skills are essential. Across our titles, journalists are using Facebook Live and producing native video for use on our sites. It’s baked into what they do. “Our big newsrooms, like Manchester and Liverpool, have their own video producers. Our smallest newsrooms – like Edinburgh Live – are run by only a few people, but they have an extraordinary collective output. Their video is created and edited on iPhones, yet it has been extremely successful.” Video will becoming increasingly important to Reach’s strategy going
COMMUNITIES NEED QUALITY JOURNALISM AND RELIABLE, AUTHENTIC NEWS AND INFORMATION
SECURING STABILITY Another Facebook partner, Archant, operates magazines and events across the UK, as well as news titles covering the south of England. “We welcome any opportunity to partner with other organisations in order to strengthen what we have and to secure long-term sustainability,” says Laura Adams, Archant’s content director for London, Kent, Herts & Cambs, and the South West. “If we can have journalists that are living and breathing the life that our audiences are, that’s quite a good thing. Referring to the decline of local journalism, Adams admits, “We all have to accept that it has been a difficult ten years or so. We’ve had to adapt to the changing needs of our audiences, and we’ve had to change quickly. But I feel that we’re in a good place in many ways. “With the backlash against the rise of fake news, people are returning to the credibility of local journalism, having news brands that are trusted and have authority.“ She continues, “We’re starting to see that people will look to us for accuracy and truth, rather than believing the first thing they see on a social media platform.” Adams is not unaware of the ironies of working with Facebook, especially given social media’s impact on traditional and local journalism.
“They are under scrutiny and they’re being held to account. But from our point of view this is about embracing a new initiative, and whether they’re the BBC or Facebook, we’re willing to partner with any organisation that wants to work with us in a positive way.” Whether Facebook’s Community News trial will continue, expand, or roll out to other regions is anyone’s guess. Corporate grants are probably not the ideal solution for the rejuvenation of the public information sphere, but the Facebook trial is bound to yield some useful results. Journalists will be trained and hired, and they will start creating new facts in places where before there were none. The results of this experiment are something anyone serious about democracy should be following closely. Facts matter.
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