By james art In an article marking the launch of the News Media Association’s Journalism Matters campaign, Sir Keir Starmer said the news media and creative sector were “central to this Government’s driving mission for economic growth”.
Sir Keir said his government would “always protect press freedoms” – which would include tackling strategic public participation lawsuits (Slapps) used by the powerful to stop journalists publishing the truth – and warned that they should not allowing digital technologies to undermine press freedom.
In his article, Sir Keir said: “Journalism is the lifeblood of democracy. Journalists are guardians of democratic values. These simple facts are so woven into the fabric of our society that we often take them for granted.
He added: “There are over 900 local and national news titles across the UK. For all the doomsday prophecies about the future of news, this represents an extraordinary power. The British news industry reaches over 80% of the population.
“However, this vitality should not blind us to the challenges. And while there is thankfully no direct threat to press freedom in our country, we must remain vigilant lest the growing power of digital technology begin to erode it. Especially as artificial intelligence begins to transform our economy and way of life.
“Both artificial intelligence and the creative industries – which includes news and media – are central to this government’s driving mission for economic growth.
“To achieve balance in our industrial policy, we work closely with both sectors. We recognize the fundamental principle that publishers should be in control and seek payment for their work, including when thinking about the role of AI.
“Not only is it essential to a busy media landscape where providing reliable information from the sector is more vital than ever, it is also essential to our ongoing work to bring the Digital Markets and Consumers Act as far as possible – quickly.
“This landmark legislation will help rebalance the relationship between platforms and those, like publishers, who rely on them.
“We also support journalists who suffer threats just for doing their jobs. Just because journalists are brave doesn’t mean they have to suffer from intimidation.
“That goes for social media. The Online Safety Act will introduce new protections against abuse as well as respect for the recognized news publisher
content.
“It applies to journalists around the world, where we will continue to use British soft power and diplomacy to fight for journalistic freedoms. But it also applies to influential people who use Slapps to scare journalists away from their pursuit of the public interest.
“This kind of behavior is unacceptable and we will take up the use of Slapps to protect investigative journalism, along with access to justice.” Because this is a government that will always protect the freedom of the press. We believe we should be held accountable.
“I am determined to show that traditional democratic British values are the only way to bring about the change that working people need – that is my political project in a nutshell.
“And there can be nothing more traditional, democratic or British than a robust free press fearlessly seeking to account the powerful.”
Run by the News Media Association (NMA) on behalf of the industry, Journalism Matters is a week-long campaign highlighting the role journalism plays in the UK. The campaign continues until Sunday.
In an article to mark the launch of the campaign, NMA chief executive Owen Meredith said: “This week we celebrate Journalism Week, dedicated to honoring the extraordinary work that British journalists do day in and day out – from shining a light on corruption, holding power to account and reporting from the halls of Westminster to war zones in Israel, Gaza and Ukraine, all in the public interest.
“For this vital component of our democracy to continue, the Government must ensure a sustainable environment for our free press through measures such as protecting the freedom of the press as journalism faces a growing range of threats, supporting our brilliant local news media that reach to massive audiences in print and digital, and maintaining our robust gold standard copyright regime to ensure that content creators control the use of their works as AI technology continues to evolve.”