The BBC is considering employing a total of thirty six video journalists to work in six-person teams, one in each of six Scottish regions. Their job would be to post video reports on the BBC’s news website. The Scottish Daily Newspaper Society (SDNS) to which most Scottish papers belong, has lodged a protest to the BBC’s plans with the BBC Trust. Their position is that the proposals would seriously distort the regional news market. They feel that the BBC is using its licence fee revenue to support investment in the salaries of the thirty six video journalists which would not be commercially sustainable. And they are concerned that the BBC’s multi-platform broadcasting gives it virtually unlimited capacity to cross-market its online services.

Most UK newspapers, including Scottish ones, have had an online service for some time but have seen it as their second string rather than the news frontier it is. This means that their web presence is not optimising the advantages of the very nature of the medium and can be quite lame. On the other hand, the BBC recognised very early the unstoppability of the internet and decided to get in there and lead the way. It has been innovative, strategic and energetic. Others could have done the same but lacked the vision. It has not simply been about money. It has been about foresight and a commitment to the new. Now all that the left-behinds can do is attempt to obstruct development. This is the thumb-in-dyke moment for the press world. There would be a logic in their attempt to slow down the advance of the BBC if they were using the time to develop radically their own online services behind the scenes. On evidence, this is unlikely. People use the BBC’s online services in hugely increasing numbers because they are the best. There are ways of competing with them and the energetic will find those ways. while the rest continue to whinge.

See previous comment in this issue in our Yakking section – above under Activities.