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| Labour proposes free papers for teens |
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Originally published January 19, 2010 Scottish LABOUR’S culture spokeswoman has called for all 18-year-olds to be given a year-long free subscription to the newspaper of their choice, in hopes of encouraging a life-long habit of reading.
Writing in The Scotsman last week, Pauline McNeill said that the decisive action was also required to help save Scotland’s ailing newspaper industry. The current recession and the advent of the internet and other technologies has undermined newspaper circulation and the ability of large national dailies to attract advertisers, although Scotland still has one of the most competitive markets for newspapers, with 17 national papers serving a population of five million. McNeill stated in her editorial that “we need some positive ideas to protect the role that newspapers play as an essential part of Scotland's democratic, artistic and popular culture.” The plan is modelled on a similar scheme in France, announced last year, under which the government offered to pay for delivery of newspapers to millions of teenagers. Under the French plan, publishers would provide the newspapers to the government free of charge, except for delivery costs, in exchange for the increased ad revenue expected from higher circulation. The party's announcement comes at a crucial time for many newspapers. SNP Finance secretary John Swinney announced recently that councils may soon be allowed to publish notices on the internet, instead of in newspapers, which they are currently required to do by law. The move will reportedly cost newspapers £10 million in lost advertising revenue. McNeill called this move undemocratic, saying that “many of the most vulnerable in our society do not have access to broadband.” “The SNP government seems intent on driving Scottish newspapers towards their final deadline,” she added. Scottish Labour said that the cost of providing the newspapers - more than £9.3million, without delivery costs - should be carried by the Scottish Government, but the possibility of structuring the scheme in the same way as the French proposal suggested has not been ruled out. Liberal Democrat culture spokesman Iain Smith said of the initiative: “In the middle of a recession there are better things for government to be spending money on than free newspapers for young people.” Pete Murray, the president of the National Union of Journalists, disagreed, saying: “This is positive initiative that shows real imagination. If we get this right it will be a win-win for young people and newspapers.” The National Union of Journalists had previously reported the loss of around 2,000 jobs in both print and broadcast media in recent months.
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Good for you. Keep up the good work.