Locals urged to help save Cumbria news coverage

12:20pm Tuesday 30th September 2008

LOCALS are being urged to throw their weight behind a campaign to prevent what has been deemed an ‘appalling’ move to merge Cumbria news with the North East.

ITV has put forward a blueprint to replace Border Television’s regional news programme Lookaround.

The media regulator wants Lookaround to continue in a reduced format as ITV seeks to limit its commitment to public service broadcasting.

And the proposal – which has gained backing from Ofcom – would see Border and Tyne Tees news merged with separate 15-minute slots instead of 30 minutes in the main weekday programme for viewers in each of the areas it covers.

This week there were calls from Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron for residents to support him in his effort to get a potential new TV news programme as a replacement for Lookaround.

Mr Farron said: “ I’m pretty appalled. Culturally we have little in common with Newcastle or Sunderland.”

Mr Farron said he had been involved in talks with people at a “high level” in broadcasting to explore the possibility of starting a fresh news channel if ITV could not provide an acceptable service.

“I don’t want this to happen; I would prefer Lookaround to continue as it is, but we may have no alternative but to create a new programme which can properly focus on news for the people of Cumbria.”

Mr Farron plans to lobby Culture Secretary Andy Burnham over the issue and said any new programme could be broadcast using the existing Kendal transmitter.

Ofcom spokesman Stewart Purvis said the proposal to merge Border and Tyne Tees news programming was “a compromise which we think has merit”.

The consultation closes on December 4 and Ofcom says it expects to publish a final statement in early 2009.

Cumbria County Council's leader Stewart Young said “a robust opposition” to the plans would be submitted to Ofcom.

“"The Border region is unique and its people have been incredibly loyal to ITV for many years; we want to see ITV repaying that loyalty by properly covering news in the region,” he said.

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