Oxford Local News Campaign 
Next meeting: 6.30pm, Town Hall, Thursday 2nd December 
(room booked in the name of the NUJ, apologies to be sent to oxnuj@aol.com)
Agenda
Minutes of the last meeting
Launch meeting

Leaflet
Finalise general leaflet and flyer for the launch meeting. Mock-up of the third draft of the general leaflet, plus flyer are attached. N.b. the flyer includes provisional details that need to be amended or agreed at the January 6th meeting). Fully designed leaflets will hopefully be available at the meeting.

Distribution and mobilisation
How do we ensure the widest possible circulation of the leaflet and details of the meeting? e.g.
•direct mailings
•circulation by other groups in their mailings
•circulation by e-mail
•other ways of spreading the word

What groups are we looking at? e.g. 
•Voluntary organisations
•Community organisations
•Councillors etc
•Local campaigns
•Students, including media students

Agenda of the launch meeting: 
Main focus and set of issues for the various workshops
Report backs
Final plenary session – what do we want to get out of it? Discussion of local news forum? 

Speakers
Workshop leaders, other key contributors

Logistics
Timetable for all the above and showing of Outfoxed. Venue, Method of registration, Refreshments/food?

AOB

Minutes of the local news campaign meeting December 2nd

Present
Janet Mace (Oxfordfordshire Council for Disabled People), Richard Hollinghum (Oxford and Cherwell college, NUJ), Sarah Lasenby, Eileen Cameron-Kirby (indymedia), Peter McIntyre (NUJ), Mark Young (BBC Oxford, NUJ) Better Hooper (VLV), Paul Cunningham (Headington Community Association) John Fray (NUJ), Carol Cattley (VLV, NUJ), Anna Wagstaff (NUJ), Lis Burch (NUJ), Mike Taylor (NUJ), Morton Hooper (VLV), Anna Wagstaff (NUJ)
Apologies
Mary Evans Young (Age Concern), Emma Campbell (BBC Oxford NUJ), Rachel Bulkeley (BBC Oxford NUJ), Peter Cann (Oxford Mail NUJ)

Report
John Fray reported on speculation over restructuring at the BBC. The Director General was due to announce details on December 7th. Reports published in a number of newspapers speculate that between 3000 and 6000 jobs may be lost, and that the One o’clock News could be replaced by a feed from the BBC News 24 channel. Comments from Tessa Jowell, Culture Media and Sport Minister, suggest that although the BBC licence fee may be safe for now, it may not survive when it comes up for renewal again in 10 years time. There will be a review of the licence fee in 5 years time, and that is when its fate is likely to be sealed. Any action to defend a fully funded BBC therefore needs to operate on that timescale.
Fray also reported that the broadcasting regulator has halved the number of hours of regional programmes that ITV and other independent broadcasters are obliged to broadcast, and looks set to pave the way to lift the obligation on ITV to provide local news services.

Leaflets
Two draft leaflets were circulated. One general leaflet setting out the reasons behind the campaign and what we stand for, with a reply coupon for people to affiliate. The other aimed specifically at the public meeting.
It was agreed that we should use images of local news, both Central and BBC, on the front. Some changes were agreed to the text and the “What we stand for” section. Agreed that text should go in a reasonable type size to make it easy to read.

Public Meeting
A discussion of what we want from the public meeting led to agreement that we are aiming at two different things, and really need two meetings. 
•One which is very locally focused, interactive and workshop based that allows the people who attend to discuss in detail issues around how local news is gathered and to talk about problems, gaps, and what people would like to see The film Outfoxed, looking at Murdoch’s Fox news service, could be shown at this meeting. Possible venues include the Town Hall, Headington Community Centre, the Asian Cultural Centre, Brookes, the Oxpens site of the Oxford and Cherwell college, and the Friends Meeting House.
•Another focused more specifically at the threat to public service broadcasting.

The first needs a Saturday afternoon, with workshops led by local journalists from the press, radio and TV, as well as a workshop on public service broadcasting. The second would be an evening meeting which we hope to have Jon Snow to chair, with various prominent national and local speakers. This would be scheduled around the time of the Green Paper on the renewal of the BBC Charter, which is now expected around early-mid March.

Next meeting
The next meeting will be on Thursday January 6th in the Town Hall.