ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a critique of UK Government policy towards the news publishing industry, with particular reference to the All in, all together campaign, launched in April 2020. The COVID-19 lockdown exacerbated structural trends within the news publishing industry: advertising revenues collapsed, distribution of print newspapers was suspended and thousands of journalists’ jobs were jeopardised. In response, publishers, civil society organisations, unions, and academics called on the Government to bail out the industry and act on the findings of the 2019 Cairncross Review of Public Interest News, which had recommended long-term investment in digital innovation and local reporting. Instead, the Government launched an advertising campaign, All in, all together, channelling up to £35 million to publishers in return for promoting government messages in the form of display advertisements and sponsored content. The funding provided was only available to print newspaper publishers, and the scheme disproportionately favoured corporate publishers and excluded independent publishers. The chapter argues that while government support for public interest news is essential, this support must be designed and delivered independently to mitigate the risk of any real or perceived conflict of interests.
