Doncaster’s new mayor has scrapped a council-run monthly newspaper making a saving, he said, of £67,000 a year.
Peter Davies told the Doncaster Free Press: “It is simply council propaganda and an exercise in distorting unpalatable truths.”
The latest move comes after Government culture secretary Ben Bradshaw voiced his opposition to council-run newspapers in the Sunday Mirror this week.
He said: “They remind me of (Soviet state newspaper) Pravda and papers I knew from my times in East Germany as a BBC correspondent. If the only information you’re getting is misleading propaganda put out by politicians from one particular party, I think that’s very dangerous.”
Many fear they are providing unfair competition for established local papers. But some councils argue that with regional newspaper circulations declining, they need to find alternative ways to get their message across.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
