Douglas Lumsden MSP has called on the Scottish Government to hold urgent meetings with STV and Ofcom after journalists staged a day of strike action over cuts to the news service.
At First Minister’s Questions, John Swinney confirmed the government will make “renewed representations” amid plans to axe 28 news jobs and end of a separate news service for the north of Scotland.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) held protests outside STV’s Glasgow headquarters and its Aberdeen offices.
It resulted in all Scottish news programmes on STV being cancelled on the day of extreme snow that have battered the North and North East.
At Holyrood, Douglas Lumsden MSP demanded that government ministers held further meetings with STV management before the closure of Ofcom’s consultation in February.
If Ofcom gives the go-ahead, the new format for news programmes, which will involve all studio presentation coming from Glasgow, will likely be introduced by the spring.
Following FMQs, Scottish Conservative North East MSP Douglas Lumsden said: “STV’s new proposals to Ofcom will do little to compensate for the loss of the north news programme, the reduced need for newsrooms in Aberdeen and Inverness, and the redundancies that would still occur if these plans went ahead.
“Yesterday’s strike, on a day when northern Scotland faced extreme weather, underlined how big a loss the STV North programme would be.
“The consequences will mean a diminished platform rural areas, weakened scrutiny of public institutions, and the silencing of voices that deserve to be heard.
“With only a month between now and Ofcom’s consultation closing, the Scottish Government must urgently meet STV’s management to get them to scrap these reckless plans which undermine the livelihoods of staff and the essential service they provide to our communities.”
In response, John Swinney said: “I agree entirely with Mr Lumsden about the importance of the distinctive and substantive news output from STV North.
“I think the alternative proposals that have emerged will lead to that erosion of substantive news output from STV North.”
He added: “I will make sure there are renewed representations made by the government to STV and to Ofcom.”
