From riches to rags: Prospects for local newspapers

Regional and local press owners have expressed the urgent need to consolidate in order to make a successful transition to digital. However, they argue that they face a major obstacle in the form of a restrictive media merger control regime that has not in the past taken into account the potential for competition across boundaries between newspapers and other media. The Digital Britain report states that such arguments need to be tested against the evidence.

This paper (On media - 5th edition), assesses the challenges faced by the industry and potential ways of addressing them. In particular, we understand that time is of the essence: long-term structural factors together with recent cyclical effects mean that to ensure continued provision for consumers of diverse and plural regional/local news provision, policy makers may need to move quickly.

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