Local Democracy Reporting Service: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:07, 25 June 2022

Latest revision as of 00:22, 16 March 2025

(21 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown)

Line 1:

{{short description|UK local journalism service}}

{{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 |publisher=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]], [[Police and crime commissioner|P&CCsPCCs]], [[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 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 LDRS staffLDRs are [[NewsPress pool|pooled]] and can be used at no cost by over 1,000a 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" />

Line 12 ⟶ 13:

== 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|90009200|mile|km|adj=on}} return flight to Vancouver to speak about [[climate change]] at a [[TED (conference)|TED eventconference]], and whether it was appropriate for a LDRS reporter, rather than a“a mainstreamjournalist newspaperfrom journalista newspaper”, to be asking the question. Shortly afterwards it was reported that LDRsLDRS 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]]