Inverness MP's call to halt plan to axe trainee journalist funding wins cross-party political support
An urgent plea by a Highland MP for action to safeguard the roles of more than 100 trainee journalists across the UK has been winning cross-party support in Westminster – including among big names on the political stage.
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Drew Hendry lodged an early day motion in Westminster earlier this month calling on Facebook owner Meta to reverse its decision to axe funding for the Community News Project (CNP).
Meta launched the scheme back in 2018 – and has contributed £13.5 million towards it over the past five years – in a bid to help create trainee and community journalism roles in areas across the UK.
But it has since announced that its funding for it will end this December, sparking concerns over the impact this could have on dozens of journalists and the news beats they cover.
Related: Highland MP asks UK Government to protect trainee journalists
Highland MPs were quick to urge a rethink by the social media giant, with Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP, Jamie Stone, writing to the UK government urging it to step in.
Drew Hendry also lodged his early day motion calling on social media giants and other major digital platforms to step up and support the initiative.
And MPs from a number of political parties agreed with the Inverness MP's plea – with his motion subsequently securing signatures from Labour, Green, and DUP MPs, as well as a number from his SNP colleagues.
The list of supporters includes big names like Caroline Lucas – the high-profile Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, who has twice led her party.
Other signatories include Labour's Nadia Whittome, the DUP's Jim Shannon, and SNP members like Alison Thewliss, Philippa Whitford and Owen Thompson, among others.
Speaking when he first announced his early day motion Mr Hendry said: "Our local publisher, Highland News & Media, is one of many that benefited from the CNP.
"They've been able to hire trainees who've made a big difference. One such trainee is Iona MacDonald. At just 17, she's already done impressive work, like her investigation into underage vaping in Inverness. But with Meta's decision, her future, and that of many others, is uncertain.
"Meta has given £13.5 million to the CNP over five years. Without their support, many trainee reporters may have to leave journalism. This is a huge loss, especially when local media faces tough economic times.
"Digital platforms like Meta play a significant role in our news ecosystem. But some of their decisions, including how they've reacted to regulations in Canada and Australia, show that there's an imbalance. Our local news teams should be fairly compensated for their vital work.
"I know you will share my view that local journalists matter greatly to our communities – they connect people with the issues affecting them, their families, and the community. Therefore, I am asking you to raise this matter directly with Meta and urge them to rethink this decision and consider what additional support the government can offer to protect this important project."
Meta's support for the project in 2018 came in response to growing signs that social media giants were securing an increasing share of advertising revenue in areas where such spending traditionally helped to support vital local and rural news outlets.
The trend sparked fears in countries around the world that such developments could lead to the collapse of some local or regional news outlets. In some countries this has since come to pass, with entire regions of the USA being left without any local news provider – depriving communities of important news from their own communities. In some cases, even major US cities have lost their local/regional newspaper.
Meta's funding helped to ensure communities in the UK did not lose their local news links, and dozens of posts were created to help fund new local and trainee positions.
But Meta's announcement that it will pull its funding for the UK project from this December, has sparked concerns that local and regional news that might otherwise go unreported could be impacted.
