Newspapers help keep communities together

UNDERSTANDABLE concern has been expressed about the future of the news industry. A few months ago the Cairncross Review was set up to investigate it with the intention of ensuring the survival of high quality, reliable and widely accessible news services.

One of the problems has been the fall in the numbers and circulations of printed newspapers. Local ones have suffered the biggest fall. Some have disappeared and some have turned into online publications only.

The move online has undermined the hard copy side.

This is unfortunate. Local papers are read by all classes, all political activists, all officials and all business people. Their readerships are inclusive. In addition, people like to read about their neighbours and the places they know. It gives context to their lives. Local papers have a long tradition of binding communities together. Their extinction would leave a gap. Screens are not the same.

Can I suggest that M.E.N. readers worried by this possibility and have any ideas about what action could be taken should write to the Review? The email address is Cairncrossreview@culture.gov.uk. The postal address is: The Cairncross Review Secretariat, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Support, 4th Floor, 100 Parliament St, London, SW1A 2BQ. The closing date for submissions is September 7.

This is a rare chance to influence the media instead of being influenced by it. Margaret Brown, Burslem

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