Free stuff

Two stories together in the Guardian demonstrate how confusing it feels for local staff when the BBC says it'll share resources with all comers, in a bid to stave off slicing of the licence-fee.

The Press Association (shareholders - all the big UK newspaper groups) is offering six month use of its video newswire service free. (The BBC is a paying subscriber to PA services).

The BBC is apparently about to offer access to video news content to regional newspapers.

However, you can bet the BBC would be less comfortable with offering it free to The Telegraph, who are paying ITN for a service. So who pays when a local or regional story becomes a national lead ? Is, for example, Susan Boyle, a local or national story ? What guarantees that local websites bother with local stories, when all this free content means they can mount national coverage, and get hits on Susan Boyle, like everyone else ? Take a look at Wales Online, or the Yorkshire Post - these sites, like their papers, are trying to be a one stop shop for international, national, regional and local news. Their competition is BBC News Online, Sky News, The Telegraph etc.

If the BBC were to give all its news content free to everybody, there'd be more debate in Television Centre. But that's what may be happening....