Local Media

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan—and that is not baloney, because I mean it.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill (Peter Fortune) on leading the debate. Local media is so important, especially for our communities. I have listened closely to what Members have said so far, and others will endorse that because we are all on the same page—literally. I, for one, strongly believe in local media and everything it stands for, so that is why I am here.

From newspapers to local radio, we sometimes underestimate the role that local media plays in society. It is so important for the likes of us as public representatives. It allows us to get in touch with the reader or listener directly. I remember my first story in the local press: it was about potholes at the harbour in Ballywalter. The guy in charge of the council said to me, “You do that. It’s your lead-off story as you start your life as a councillor.” That was in 1985. I can remember many of the things that were done to highlight what I was working on in our local newspapers. It is not a generational issue—for me, it probably is—but many others now go online to TikTok or X to get their news, and perhaps do not purchase the likes of papers any more.

I have a routine: every Monday I make a phone call to the editor of the local paper, Paul Symington, when I am at the airport or on the tube train on the way here, and tell him the things I am going to campaign for that week. He is very kind, he wants stories about the things we do, and we do it with a purpose in mind. I am a great believer that one photograph in the local paper is worth three paragraphs, so I try to feature pictorially in the paper—although I might not look all that well—at least one to three times a week, maybe more, because that is another way to tell a story.

My local newspaper, the Newtownards Chronicle, started way back in 1873—over 145 years ago—and I would love it to remain for many years. It is still going strong—it is probably the strongest newspaper we have. I love reading about the local stories and what is going on around the villages in my constituency. It allows me, perhaps from a distance, to learn what is going on and, more so, what needs to be done.

Each Friday, I read and scour the local papers—the Chronicle, the Mourne Observer and sometimes the County Down Spectator—to get the stories about people who are retiring from schools, hospitals and churches, about those who are being installed or have done charity fundraising, and about the schools that have achieved something. After that, some 20 to 30 letters go out to individuals to congratulate them. We should use our local papers for that purpose—that is the right thing to do.

I have talked about the Newtownards Chronicle, but I was saddened to hear that the Down Recorder closed its doors very recently. That was another long-standing paper in the area. The owner Marcus Crichton, who is a great man, said it is a difficult time for the industry, and he is right. It is so different from how it was 20 to 30 years ago. My girls in the office are all tech-friendly—unlike myself, unfortunately—and they sometimes show me news headlines on their phone. I say to myself, “My goodness! How did they get that headline so quick?” In modern society, that is now the way our staff and others do that for us.

As I have stated before, my constituency as a whole is very rural, and many down my neck of the woods do not have access to the same broadband as some urban areas, so access to online news is not great. My constituents rely on the local post office or corner shop to get their news by buying their local Newtownards Chronicle, or they keep the one radio in their house on all day to get the updates. That is the essence of local news and media, and I will forever fight to protect that.

As we have heard today, and will hear from others, there is a dangerous shift in how media is being portrayed. I want to be a voice for the home-grown methods of giving the people their news, and for not always relying on online websites or social media apps, which are inaccessible for many. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response and the contributions of other Members.