The following is taken from a twitter thread written by Director of ICNN, Emma Meese.

The UK Government decides which news publishers sink and which swim amid the current Covid-19 crisis.

At a time when people need their local press more than ever, the Government has supported some titles financially whilst others are given nothing.

The real cost and suffering of this decision will undoubtedly be the public.

People are looking to cut through the noise and access trusted and verified local information, that will help keep them safe and alive.

The UK Government has a duty to put that information in places where the public will see it, not just where they have always put it.

On 20th March, in a submission to Government, the News Media Association (NMA) said that the crisis posed a grave threat to some publishers because of sharp declines in advertising, and some would not survive beyond the next few months without swift intervention.

The NMA outlined a series of financial and operational interventions that are “essential to ensure news publishers continue to operate”.

Committing to divert Government media spend to newspapers (online & print, national & local) to ensure key public information messages are communicated to readers through an immediate and sustained advertising campaign.

Those calls have been heeded, to the detriment of others.

ICNN and the Public Interest News Foundation called for the same advertising campaign to be extended across all reputable independent press.

Our members now face yet another weekend of uncertainly without any assurance of Gov support.

Help us to #saveindependentnews. Use the hashtag and visit us now at saveindependentnews.org.uk. Please share with us examples of the fantastic work you are doing during this crisis so we can build a portfolio of case studies to show how much-added value our sector brings.