Introduction
The L&R (Local and Regional) News Hub Project is developing the concept of a cloud based information hub to allow effective information sharing across IFNC member organisations.
The preferred bidders for the three IFNC (Independently Funded News Consortia) pilots were announced by DCMS on25th March 2010. The IFNC pilots will operate in Wales, Scotland and North East England and will seek to revitalise local and regional news provision through leveraging the combined resources and expertise of their member organisations.
IFNC Preferred Bidders
Scotland: Scottish News Consortium , comprising Johnston Press, Herald and Times Group, and D C Thomson along with independent TV production company Tinopolis.
Wales: Wales Live, comprising UTV, the current Channel 3 licence holder in Northern Ireland together with NWN Media Ltd – a regional newspaper print and publishing company.
Tyne Tees/Borders: News 3, comprising Trinity Mirror, Press Association and independent TV production company, Ten Alps.
The IFNCs clearly have the potential to reverse the current decline in local and regional news, and to secure meaningful plurality of regional News for the future. They also hold the promise of a new, exciting, multi-layered, multi-media approach to News provision.
While IFNCs offer the prospect of an exciting future, there are substantial cultural, managerial and operational challenges that need to be overcome to deliver the potential benefits to be gained from historically distinct media organisations working together.
The L&R (Local and Regional) Hub project is developing the concept of a cloud based information hub to allow straightforward sharing of the information needed to operate a collaborative news organisation effectively.
Effective information sharing is clearly only one of a broad set of challenges facing the IFNCs, but it is hoped that establishing effective information sharing will provide a platform from which these broader managerial and cultural challenges can be addressed.