BBC director-general Tim Davie has revealed plans to expand the Local Democracy Reporting Service outside of its current focus on local authorities.
In a speech in Salford on Wednesday, Davie said the BBC wants to expand the scheme to include “health authorities, police and crime commissioners, and deep analysis of the work of regional mayors” with the coverage continuing to be shared with partner publishers.
Davie added: “But we can be more radical in supporting others. Can we ‘open source’ all our local video, news and audio content to enable local media partners to access it too?
“Can we use the scale and reach of the BBC’s platforms to provide more prominent linking to commercial providers?
“Of course, we’ll consult with partners before we confirm plans but we need a plural local news market.”
The media partners for the next LDR contract period, running from 1 July for two-and-a-half years until the end of 2027 and the current BBC Charter, were announced last week.
The scheme is funded by the BBC for local newsrooms around the UK to employ 165 journalists to focus on council meetings and other democratic institutions in their areas.
Under the new contracts, Reach (83 reporters), Newsquest (36) and National World (24) are the biggest partners in the scheme but four media organisations will begin managing LDRs for the first time: Baylis Media, Tindle Newspapers, Highland News & Media and community radio station NLive in Northampton.
Davie made the announcement in a speech setting out a vision for the BBC to be a “catalyst for building trust”.
He said expanding the LDR scheme would do this by “help[ing] to support our democracy from the roots up”.
Davie also said: “Our ambition is to strengthen our local journalism while building support for the wider local news ecology which faces serious pressure.
“We want to write a new chapter in our partnership with the wider local news sector.”
Rival commercial publishers have in recent years criticised the BBC’s online local news expansion, saying it is crushing competition. They have repeatedly warned they struggle to compete with the BBC picking up the same stories on its ad-free website that is often ranked higher in Google.
Ofcom said at the end of last year that “increased BBC online local news forms part of the headwinds facing local publishers and there may be some local areas where BBC viewing is displacing commercial viewing”.
However, it also said it had “not found significant evidence that BBC page views are displacing commercial publisher page views”.
News Media Association chief executive Owen Meredith said in response to Davie’s speech that he welcomed the BBC’s “recognition and aim to strengthen our plural local news market. As Ofcom has said, the BBC’s increased online local news output is one of the headwinds to the success of local news media, so the BBC’s desire to reset the relationship and be a truly beneficial partner is welcome.
“We will work with the BBC and government in the lead up to Charter Renewal to get the right framework for a BBC that is truly complementary to commercial providers. This work will include looking at ways to enhance the successful Local Democracy Reporting Service and improving linking to commercial news providers.”
BBC to ‘dramatically’ increase Youtube and Tiktok news output
In his speech Davie also said the BBC could help to “make the UK a global leader in trusted information” by doubling down on fighting disinformation.
To do this he said the BBC will “dramatically” increase its news output on Youtube (where it currently has 18 million subscribers) and Tiktok (where it has eight million).
Davie said this will “ensure we have a stronger position amidst the noise. We are already making progress. We are the biggest news account globally on Instagram, but we want to deploy new technology and skills to create more content that works on these platforms while incentivising links to our services.”
He added that the BBC would build on Verify, which launched in 2023 with a team of more than 60 journalists and the aim of building audience trust by showing how its journalists know what they are reporting is true.
The corporation already said in March it would move from mostly publishing responsive, ad-hoc fact-checks to an “‘always an’ offer, with daily digital output and a dedicated commitment to US coverage”.
Davie said: “…we need to build Verify across more services globally.
“Also, we want to empower audiences as they seek answers – combining agentic AI with trusted BBC journalism to create a new gold standard fact checking tool. Our aim is to work globally with other public service broadcasters to ensure a healthy core of fact-based news.
“And we want to open up our journalistic processes so people can see how we work; radical transparency driving increased trust.”
World Service to be ‘supercharged’ but funding needed
Davie went on to say the BBC has a plan for “supercharging” the World Service by “regionalising our content in key English-speaking markets and boosting our offer in the four big languages”.
But he noted the need for political support for the World Service: “With proper government funding, we believe we can drive significant benefits to the UK.”
Davie said of the BBC as a whole as it faces uncertainty about the future of the licence fee: “When it comes to funding we are not asking for the status quo. We want modernisation and reform. But in doing so we must safeguard universality.
“All the funding models that have been floated in the debate have their merits and drawbacks. But some such as advertising or subscription don’t pass the test of building a universal trusted public service.
“Beyond that, we keep an open mind. And we continue to actively explore all options that can make our funding model fairer, more modern, and more sustainable.
“When it comes to funding the World Service, we do need help. There has never been a more important time to invest in this priceless national asset. We believe the UK should be ambitious about its future – and the government should invest for significant growth, not survival.”
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