Scots' ad moves make local papers 'unviable'

摘要

Scottish councils stand accused of driving local newspapers out of business by withdrawing their advertising.The decision comes as concern also mounts south of the border over the role of council newspapers in contributing to the demise of local media, and the Audit Commission is about to launch a study into the issue.A Commons select committee on Scottish affairs found the newspaper industry was at risk of becoming commercially unviable because local authorities in Scotland had withdrawn job advertising and placed it on a new public sector portal.It concluded: 'It is vital... that the Scottish newspaper industry is not made unviable through overbearing competition from public sector advertising.'At the same time, public notices such as planned road closures, were also being withdrawn from local newspapers and published on public sector portals, leading to an estimated loss in newspaper revenue of £10m.