On 28th November, the London Newsmakers group of local independent news and journalism publishers kindly invited me to speak at their second-ever meeting, hosted at City Hall. They also invited think tanks, funders, and elected representatives (list at the end) – and Sadiq Khan himself came towards the end of the meeting (though I had to leave early, so missed that bit…)
The talk I planned to give was already somewhat raising the alarm – but the time of the actual meeting in late November, the result of the US presidential election meant that the context had changed.
I opened instead with the threats that London was set to face not just online (including personal attacks on our Mayor), but on our streets, as a result of the re-election of Donald Trump and from his Big Tech allies, notably Elon Musk. Just as the GLA is examining London’s Cyber Security, I argued – drawing on fresh work by Demos supported by Will Perrin, to which I have fed in, and which was published the day after the meeting – that it should be addressing London’s ‘epistemic security’ – the protection of the processes by which societies produce, share and act on reliable information – and that addressing the local news crisis is essential but just the first step among a coordinated, multi-level response that the Mayor and GLA are best-placed to lead.
There’s a range of interventions that could not only concretely help nurture the local news ecosystem in London, but position London as a world leader in valuing and supporting its local journalism, news and information sector. I’ll certainly be pushing where I can for our city to set the bar nationally and internationally.
It’s related to something I am collaborating on with Philip Napoli of Duke University – a primer for city leaders on why and how cities need to take a strategic approach to their own information environments. This is not about strategic communication, and City Hall filling the space with ‘storytelling’ where local journalism and news has shrunk – this is about how City Hall can help create a healthier information environment, and reduce information inequality, for all Londoners, across all 32 boroughs and the City of London.
Participants on the day included (thanks to Tabitha for the list, and also for the picture): Jared Shurin, Jon Weisgard and Sam Hart from Greater London Authority, Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London; Lizzie Rapinet from DCMS; Katie Townsend from Centre for London; Beth Robertson and Anna Burton from Rachel Blake MP’s office; London Centric’s Jim Waterson; Camden New Journal’s Richard Osley; Greenwich Wire’s Darryl Chamberlain; Brixton Bugle’s Alan Slingsby, Havering Daily’s Ross Elliot; The Loco’s Tom Kihl; The Archer’s Fiona MacDonald; London Spy’s Alex Clark; London Minutes’ Michael MacLeod, Naked Politics’ Banseka Kayembe, Sangeeta Waldron and others, and acknowledgement of the many others who support Londoners’ access to quality information every day, but who couldn’t be at the meeting.
Macroscope 
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