I am proud to report on vital local issues
BBC SCHEME PUTTING DEMOCRACY TO THE FOREFRONT
Local democracy reporter basis of our political system is democracy – and that relies on keeping the public briefed so that they can make informed decisions.
There are lots of news sources for information about national issues – but is every local story covered appropriately?
That was the question the BBC asked when it decided to fund an important new experiment, the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
It put millions of pounds into paying for reporters to be embedded with local papers/news websites – and now the initiative has reached a successful first birthday.
Short-staffed local newsrooms may not have had the resources to pour into time-consuming fact-finding missions. But Local Democracy reporters could concentrate on the bodies whose rulings cover your neighbourhood, such as councils and Clinical Commissioning Groups.
Topics covered in council meetings may appear to be dry and dull. But the key word there is ‘appear.’
Below the surface – and among the jargon and continuous acronyms – are decisions and information which affect the your life and those of your children, grandparents and neighbours.
All too often, due to short-staffing and time constraints, newsrooms are forced to either overlook their local councils and NHS organisations – or to rely on press releases from those very authorities.
Clearly this is at best not ideal and certainly not in keeping with the values of a journalist. A year ago this month, the first local democracy reporter was hired.
In the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), 130 journalists have been taken on and the vast majority are now based in the offices of regional/ local newspapers.
Their role, including my own, is to provide coverage of the local democracy process.
This sees the vast majority of my time spent reading long and often dry council and NHS reports and attending meetings which often have the same qualities.
The purpose is to highlight the importance of keeping an eye on these authorities to ensure that their decision-making is transparent and accurate and to place more pressure on local government authorities to improve the nature in which they provide information, and how consistently and accuTHE Local democracy reporter Eddie Bisknell is based at the Derby Telegraph offices