Local Democracy Reporting Service: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|UK local journalism service}}

{{in use}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022 }}

{{Use British English|date=June 2022}}

The '''Local Democracy Reporting Service''' ('''LDRS''') is an initiative in the United Kingdom funded by the [[BBC,]]. whichThe employsscheme journalistspays tofor workthe withemployment of journalists by local independent news outlets, in order to improve the coverage of issues relating to [[Local government in the United Kingdom|local democracy]].<ref name="LDRS">{{cite web |title=Local Democracy Reporting Service |url=https://www.bbc.com/lnp/ldrs |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=25 June 2022 }}</ref><ref name="Lock">{{cite web |title=Local Democracy Reporting Service: A model for public broadcasters? |first1=Harry |last1=Lock |url=https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/local-democracy-reporting-service-a-model-for-public-broadcasters/ |publisher=Public Media Alliance |access-date=25 June 2022 |date=2 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="RadioExe">{{cite web |title=Local Democracy Reporting Service |url=https://www.radioexe.co.uk/news-and-features/ldrs-in-devon/ |website=Radio Exe |access-date=25 June 2022 }}</ref><ref name="TMJ">{{cite web |title=Local democracy reporters aid transparency |url=https://themj.co.uk/Local-democracy-reporters-aid-transparency-/212212 |website=[[The Municipal Journal]] }}</ref> Its core purpose is stated as being "to provide impartial coverage of the regular business and workings of local authorities in the UK, and other relevant democratic institutions such as [[Mayors in England|mayoralties]], [[Combined authority|combined authority areas]], P&CCs[[Police and crime commissioner|PCCs]], quangos[[quango]]s, etc."<ref name="LDRS" />

The scheme launched in 2017.<ref name="Lock" /> As of the 2021 contracting round, 165 '''Local Democracy Reporters''' ('''LDRs''') were employed by eighteen participating organisations, ranging from large bodies including [[DC Thomson]], [[Reach plc|Reach&nbsp;plc]], [[Newsquest]] and the ''[[Evening Standard]]'', to smaller outlets such as [[107.3 Radio Exe|Radio Exe]] and Social Spider, a [[community interest company]] which publishes three north London community newspapers.<ref name="LDRS" /><ref name="Lock" /><ref name="LDRA-2021">{{cite web |title=New Local Democracy Reporting Service contract holders revealed |url=https://www.bbc.com/lnp/ldrs/2021_contracts/ |publisher=BBC |access-date=25 June 2022 }}</ref><ref name="x853">{{cite web |title=853 and the Local Democracy Reporting Service |url=https://853.london/about/853-and-the-local-democracy-reporter-scheme/ |website=853 |access-date=25 June 2022}}</ref>

Stories written by these "Local Democracy Reporters" (LDRs) are pooled and can be used by multiple participating news organisations.<ref name="LDRS" />

Stories written by LDRs are [[Press pool|pooled]] and can be used at no cost by over a thousand participating news organisations, including the BBC.<ref name="LDRS" /><ref name="Lock" /><ref name="LDRA-2021" /><ref name="x853" /> LDRS stories have featured on national BBC radio and television news programmes.<ref name="Lock" /> In the first four years of the scheme almost a quarter of a million stories were filed, with a peak of 1,321 in a seven-day period in September 2021.<ref name="Linford">{{cite news |last1=Linford |first1=Paul |title=Local Democracy Reporting service 'has become template" says Davie - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage |url=https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2021/news/local-democracy-reporting-service-has-become-template-says-bbc-dg/ |access-date=25 June 2022 |work=Hold the Front Page}}</ref>

The scheme has been replicated in New Zealand and Canada.<ref name="Linford" />

== Bristol Mayor dispute ==

The scheme itself came into the news in June 2022, when the Mayor of Bristol, [[Marvin Rees]] and his council's head of external communications, Saskia Konynenburg, challenged the line taken by LDRS reporter Alex Seabrook in questioning the mayor's {{convert|9200|mile|km|adj=on}} return flight to Vancouver to speak about [[climate change]] at a [[TED (conference)|TED conference]], and whether it was appropriate for a LDRS reporter, rather than “a journalist from a newspaper”, to be asking the question. Shortly afterwards it was reported that LDRS staff would not be allowed to attend the mayor's future press conferences, resulting in a boycott of those events by several local news outlets, as well as the BBC and [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]].<ref name="Sharman">{{cite news |last1=Sharman |first1=David |title=Bristol titles boycott Marvin Rees over council's BBC LDR ban - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage |url=https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2022/news/rival-titles-boycott-mayor-as-council-bans-local-democracy-reporters/ |access-date=25 June 2022 |work=HoldtheFrontPage}}</ref><ref name="BBC-61912309">{{cite web |title=Local Democracy Reporters excluded from Bristol mayor's briefings |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-61912309 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |access-date=25 June 2022 |date=23 June 2022}}</ref><ref name="PressG">{{cite web |title=Bristol mayor Marvin Rees faces boycott by BBC, ITV and Bristol Live |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/marvin-rees-bristol-mayor-boycott/ |publisher=[[Press Gazette]] |access-date=25 June 2022 |date=23 June 2022}}</ref>

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* {{Official website}}

{{BBC}}

[[Category:BBC]]

[[Category:Journalism in the United Kingdom]]

[[Category:2017 introductions]]