 Felly rwy'n gwneud ref Tip yn benledd. Meddynt y mae'r 나�avoio a'i g ôl i'n cael ei phethoeddau yn galerau a'i eirnodd pell an reflecting cheif. informed mewn 이� i hanes dim ni weithwyr i���dd admir. Mae parlydym ni weithio mor melpedbys ProfessorENCE signshawn yn maen o f�ust Beifyr nrhesawuaeth 15408 yn gweithio G ». yn y Dharma 24. Ac i nodw'r bydd yn nhael i gwichis i gwyb o fit加入 na'r hanes ac mae squaredd wedi cael ei cael ei gweithioCA texton mewn gol. I call in Graham Day to open the debate. Mr Day, seven minutes please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Let me begin by thanking colleagues who support for the motion and enabled us to have this debate today. The fact that 38 MSPs from across the political spectrum supported it does, I would suggest, endorse its title, The Importance of Local Newspapers. That expression of concern over the possible threat to the future existence at very least the future direction of a sizable number of Scottish weekly titles stretching from East Fife to Ellyn, Carrick to Cernusti, Galloway to Gordon Rathys, I think reflects the value that we all of us place on the history and the traditions of the papers in question. The Arboroth Herald in my constituency can trace its roots back to 1838. Just last week, with the passing of Arthur Binney, we were reminded of the contribution that those papers have made to journalism, not just in Scotland or the UK, but on a far wider scale. Arthur's main claim to fame may have been that he was the man who got the scoop on the discovery of the stone of destiny at Arboroth Abbey following its liberation from Westminster Abbey in 1951, but in a distinguished career he went on to be instrumental in the founding of a training centre in Wales for journalists from third world countries. Those papers have done much to nurture journalistic talent down the years. We permit their demise at our peril, because, while circulation may be declining across the Johnston press titles highlighted in the motion, declining in part as a consequence of cuts, the communities served by those papers do still care about them as evidenced by events in Lanark. The Carluke and Lanark gazettes used to have offices in both Carluke and Lanark. The former was closed last year followed more recently by Lanark. The depleted ranks of journalists are, I understand, having to work from home. There is a local petition being raised to get Lanark decision reversed. In signing in this motion and debating this issue today, we are speaking for our constituents, sending a message to Johnston press that we want our papers to survive, and we will work with them to try and achieve that. Of course, that requires the company to be willing to engage, not to become defensive following coverage of the infamous labelling of a number of titles in the stable as sub-core, giving rise to concerns being expressed about exactly what that means for the future of those papers. We need clarity on just how many titles are affected. We need detailed information on reported plans to split the Scottish titles into four geographical groupings. We would also want an understanding of why, although this doubt has been cast over the future of those titles and the reported 20 redundancies are being sought from the weekly portfolio, the group is in advance talks to buy the iron newspaper for a reputed £24 million. Having aired the issue at First Minister's questions in January 22, I wrote to Johnston press seeking a meeting to discuss the future of the titles located within my constituency. In doing so, I raised the status of the Carnoustie, Guidance and Gazette and the Cirmure, Herald. Although neither title had been listed as being sub-core, they are produced in conjunction with the Arbrode, Herald and Forferd dispatch, utilising shared staff. That approach has been met with deafening silence, but I can tell the chamber that both are indeed on the sub-core list, meaning that it now amounts to at least 23 Scottish titles. I say at least 23, because if the company either forgot about the guiding Gazette and the Herald or viewed them simply as additions of the name titles, then he used to say that there are no other Scottish papers that have been looked upon as sub-core, whatever that means and whatever implications that might have. Indeed, I understand that a similar situation may exist not far from this Parliament, whereby the lithgo Gazette is on the list, but no references made to the Queensferry Gazette or Bones Journal, which are, I believe, coming from the same stable. If we, looking in from the outside, have concerns over where that is headed, then how must the journalists and our staff be feeling? Perhaps that is everything about where the employees of the company are that, on the back of highlighting the situation at FMQs, I received contact from two sets of staff thanking me for what they saw as a welcome support of gesture. One long-serving member of the editorial staff told me that he and his colleagues feared that his newspaper might be allowed to wither to the point where the doors closed. One former editor of a number of titles within the group revealed to me that such had been the cost-cutting going on that he had members of the public wandering into the office just to check that it was still open. The ending of a window cleaning to save a bit of cash had left the outside of the building looking as if it had been closed. Up my way, we have seen the full gamut of scaling back, photographers done away with, reporters having, taking pics added to the demands that were made on them along with feeding the web presence and videoing interviews. The unique identities of titles that reflect the different communities that they serve have diminished by increasing components of the paper becoming common in designing content. We are reduced proportion of the additions carrying genuine local content, the very lifeblood of local papers. Let me sympathise with Johnston Press here for a second. Regardless of the wisdom of some of the acquisition decisions that they have taken, most notably of all the Scotsman group, those are tough times for the print media. They are not alone in making the kind of cut backs they have. Papers are trapped in that vicious circle whereby circulation and advertising revenues drop, so they cut costs leading to a diminished product, so circulation and advertising revenue falls further and on it goes. That problem is industry-wide and not just confined to this group. The focus of this debate is on a stable of papers that, in my experience, in the face of shrinking staff numbers, increasing demands being made on them and rock bottom morale, continue to try and practice local journalism in the right way. I like the kind of stuff that you get in those papers. I want to read about the good that is going on in our communities rather than the unrelenting negativity that seems to characterise so much of the daily press. I am with the community organisations that look forward to seeing that pic or that wee story about them appearing in print. In the midst of all the challenges that they face, those papers continue to give youngsters a start and train them properly. If there is a threat to the continuing existence of those papers, then how diminished will the opportunities be for youngsters to forge a career in journalism? That matters, Presiding Officer. If the print media is to have a future, those papers are to survive in some form, then we need young journalists coming through, especially when titles such as those operating under the Angus County Press umbrella train their staff to go about the job in a traditional way. I would, as an old hack, say the right way. We must do whatever it is possible to do to protect that. I want to be clear about my purpose in seeking to secure this debate. It was not to give Johnson Press a kicking. It was to highlight the importance of local newspapers, a subject that I have spoken about previously in this chamber. The fact that the company has it is claimed, shed around 50 per cent of the editorial posts that it had seven years ago, makes it a little different to many others. The reputed prospect of further job losses, sadly, makes it a little different to many others. This debate is about the big picture, the future of local papers that matter to their communities, Presiding Officer. Many thanks. We now turn to the open debate at speeches of four minutes, please, and I call George Adam to be followed by Claire Baker. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I also take this opportunity to thank Graham Day for bringing this important debate to the Parliament. My colleague is quite right and correct when he states in his motion the importance of local newspapers to our communities. It is concerning when you see that publishers such as Johnson Press are looking at some of their titles and the very existence of those titles, because we cannot stress enough the importance that those local newspapers and independent newspapers have to our local press, our local communities and also to the political process locally, because those titles that go to the community council meetings and report on them are those titles that actually find out what is happening in the local authority and scrutinise what happens in the local authority in our areas. Those are the newspapers that are doing that. Presiding Officer, in Paisley we too have a vibrant local newspaper that has shadowed both the expansion and the difficulties and challenges that our town has faced over the years. Graham Day's local paper may have started publishing in 1838, but, since 1874, three years before the inception of My Beloveds at Murmai FC, the Paisley Daily Express has brought the daily news of what is happening in the heart of our town to the people of Paisley. You could say that they have brought us dispatches from the centre of the very universe. The newspaper has had to deal with the challenges of the modern world, like some of the issues that Johnson Press is looking at at the moment and has already been mentioned by my colleague Graham Day. One time, the Paisley Daily Express was printed, published and delivered in the town for the town to its current incarnation, where it is part of Trinity Mirror Group and where it is headquartered in Glasgow, but it still retains an office in Paisley, staffed daily by one of its journalists, so that anyone can still pop in and talk to a journalist from the Wee Express. The history of the newspaper is such that many reporters that, similar to what my colleague has already mentioned, reporters like Bill Leckie started their career in journalism at the Paisley Daily Express went on to be a national newspaper, writer and sport, and it shows you the importance to the actual industry and journalism itself. I, for one, am extremely proud that we still have this local newspaper bringing buddies, their daily dose of news and views, but the local newspapers like the Paisley Daily Express come into their own when there is a local cause to fight or a campaign to lead. Over the years, there have been many and the Paisley Daily Express has taken responsibility of that head on. An example of that, which their current campaign is to back the local council in their bid for the UK city of culture in 2021. I have mentioned it before, it is basically hashtag why I love Paisley. We all know that I come to this place and tell everybody why I love Paisley and how important it is to me. However, the fact that the newspaper has been very positive about that, pushing it forward and directing the actual debate shows you how important it is to our town. It is going down the idea that the year of culture in 2021 for Paisley can be a regenerational tool, and we can use culture as part of that. It is very progressive for a local newspaper to go down that very positive route. There are, obviously, the negatives with local newspapers, where I used to have an uncle who used to love getting it on Monday or Tuesday to see who had been in court, because he wanted to see what had happened. If he knew anyone, he would have been there. However, those are all parts of things that local newspapers report on, because who else the big national titles are not going to report on those issues are important to people in that community. One of the other things is about staying positive about Paisley in those challenging times. The Paisley Daily Express campaign why I love Paisley has had regular and positive stories. You can see here that you have a local business, Pirelli's Ice Cream, sticking up for our town when they say why they love Paisley. You have got Gary Kerr, a local businessman, talking about £40 million investment in a potential picture house and theatre. Those are things that local newspapers are good at. Those are issues that will not see the light of day in a national newspaper. I would like to say that not everyone is lucky enough to be from Paisley. Other local newspapers are not lucky enough to be the Paisley Daily Express, but as long as I am Paisley's MSP and Paisley Daily Express continues to service our great town, Paisley's collective voice will be heard. Thank you, Mr Adam, and happily the motion was drafted widely enough for you to focus on Paisley. However, can I just remind the chamber that we don't usually have props in the chamber? I now turn to Claire Baker to be followed by Joan McAlpine. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'd like to welcome Graham Day's motion for a debate this afternoon. It was clear from the number of signatories from MSPs that we do recognise the challenges that are facing the sector. Those newspapers are important for the coverage of local issues, for the expression of local identity and for the sharing of information, and today no doubt we will all agree about the importance of good journalism and of local papers. I thought that Graham Day gave a very good analysis of their value, but the answers to this situation are not easy. Our media landscape is changing dramatically and presents challenges for many traditional outlets. During the previous parliamentary session, I was a member of the Education, Life and Learning and Culture Committee, which conducted an inquiry into the local newspaper industry in Scotland. In giving evidence to that committee, the Scottish Daily Newspaper Society summed up the importance of local newspapers well when it said that local newspapers are integral to the communities that they serve. Indeed, some go further by maintaining that local journalism is the bedrock of local democracy and public life. Certainly, there is no other part of the media providing the depth of coverage of local news and events in towns and villages throughout Scotland, reflecting the concerns of their communities, holding local government to account or campaigning on local issues. They are the voices of their communities and, above all, they are trusted. Yet, even back then, it was clear that this was an industry that was facing a precarious future. The committee's decision to take evidence on local newspapers resulted from reports that were highlighting the difficulties. In particular, at the time, it was to do with the proposed loss of advertising revenue. However, those difficulties have only increased in the resulting six years and, often in ways that were foreseeable at the time, technology is undoubtedly changing the newspaper industry and will continue to have profound effects on the future landscape. Newspapers from nationals to locals have made the progression online while embracing the popularity of social media, breaking news on Twitter and Facebook in an attempt to direct readers to their website. At the point of publication of the committee report, Facebook was steadily growing but had yet to reach the height of today. Twitter was then only four years old and had only really begun to have an impact on politics and journalism when it ran up to the 2010 general elections. Now it is clear that technology and, to an extent, cultural changes are having an impact on an increasingly altered media landscape. Despite the long-term acknowledgement of the difficulties facing the industry, each news story of impending job losses within Scottish titles is unwelcome. Last month's news that Johnson Press had designated 16 local newspapers as sub-core came as a surprise to many, not least the staff who were affected at those affected titles. Looking at my own region, we can see the type of changes that we are seeing in publications. It is not going to notice recently that many of the local publications have slimmed in size in recent months. We are seeing an increase in the duplication of stories between the bigger newspapers and the smaller, more localised ones. There are concerns that more local titles such as the East Fife Mail and the Glossus Gazette will be there to be phased out. Graham Day used the word wither. We can see the changes in the type of coverage that those papers are offering. Leaving out those smaller communities, it looks like they will be relying more on a bigger, more fife-wide publication. That would be highly regrettable as the local publications who have professional journalists working within them make a huge contribution to their communities. In recent months, I have worked closely with the East Fife Mail on a campaign to stop anti-social use of quad bikes in the area and also on jobs for the area. The coverage of that paper has been invaluable and I would like to thank them for the contribution that they have made to those campaigns. Through the coverage, I have been able to raise the issue and put pressure on the local agencies to raise the issue with the Government and support the local community. Those communities would be poorer without the titles that have served them for many years. I appreciate that these are difficult times for the Johnson press. Since 2009, around the time of the committee report, the downturn has been severe. As we pointed out, we have seen a loss of production staff down from over 1,000 to just 355. Graham Day made good points about young reporters and the opportunities that local papers give them. However, at the same time, we see Johnson press saying that the audience has grown from just over £18 million to £27 million over the same period. That really comes from the increase in online readership, but that highlights the biggest struggle. How, when news is so current, it is self-selecting, it is free, it is online, it is on our phones, how does a local publication survive in those times? Graham Day is right that we need clarity and detailed information on the future plans of Johnson press. Also, there are questions about why there are negotiations with the I newspaper news that just broke today. I recognise that these are commercial interests and newspapers cannot run without income, but a loss of those local titles and a diminution of the professional journalism that they offer needs to be challenged and we need to find ways to support them. I now call Joan McAlpine to be followed by Jamie McGregor. I would like to draw members to my register of interests, which shows that I am employed by the Daily Record newspaper, which is part of the Trinity Mirror Group. I should also say that, in the past, I have been employed by Johnson press as a columnist. I would like to congratulate Graham Day on securing this debate and to associate myself strongly with his remarks and with his motion. I began my career on the Carlook Gazette, and I was very disappointed to hear about events there and the closure of the office. I went on from the Carlook Gazette, where I was employed over the summer to join the Greenup Telegraph newspaper, which is part of one of the last surviving daily local newspapers, along with the Paisley paper, as my colleague George Adam has mentioned. I grew up reading the Greenup Telegraph, and I remember at that time that they did not—I do not think that they took PA copy, they took Reuters copy. All the news from Greenup Group put Glasgow and Senegal and all the different parts of the world you would never hear about, so I think that that definitely wetted my interest in the wider world and perhaps steered me and others in a particular direction in terms of the career. Again, I would associate myself with the remarks of others that local newspapers act as a barometer of opinion on the ground. Many of the stories that impact widely and are discussed in this chamber begin life on local newspapers. Often, those papers act as a forum, as well as a mirror for the communities that they serve, which are, despite often being quite small in size, incredibly diverse and distinctive. I think about my own south of Scotland region. For example, in some of the papers I most regularly have contact with, such as the Estelle and Littlestale advertiser covers communities in Langham, Canaan Bay and Newcastleton, Estelle and Muir, and often, as Mr Day and others mentioned, those communities, despite their small size, have a great deal going on in them, with so many voluntary groups ranking up in the hundreds. It is in those newspapers that those activities are publicised and recorded. I would also like to praise the DNG media group in the south of Scotland, which publishes the Dumfries Courier, the Annandale Observer and the Annandale Herald in the Moffitt News. It is very important to say that this group is an independent newspaper group. It is because of its independence—I think that independence means that it only focuses on local news. It gives it a priority that perhaps papers that are owned by larger groups do not have. For example, you quite often find that, in papers that are owned by larger groups, the journalists are encouraged to write the kind of stories that would be picked up by the national titles, which, as Mr Day said, often have a very negative slant to the kind of way that they cover stories. Whereas in DNG media, I have always found that they adhere to the principles of journalism that I was taught about in local newspapers, where you are actually appealing to the whole of the community, whatever their political views. You have to achieve a balance as much as you can without having a slant on the stories. The other thing about the DNG group is that, because they are independent and they really value local news, they are looking at innovative ways to develop it and have launched their own website, DNG 24 and an app, which is very encouraging. I would support that. Local newspapers are far from subcorp. They are the bedrock of our communities. I try to support my local newspapers through advertising surgeries or if I have a vacancy in my office. I would encourage others to do so and, again, praise the work that they do, not just in the communities that I cover, but across Scotland. I now call Jamie McGregor to be followed by Christine Grahame. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I regret having to leave the chamber before closing speeches and apologise in advance for doing so. I strongly agree with the motion that local newspapers are extremely valuable to constituents and communities across Scotland, and, of course, they are very valuable to politicians as a vehicle for expressing our sentiments and our policies and, of course, our photographs. Where will we be without them? They are able to cover local affairs and issues in the level of detail that other media don't do. They are often at the forefront of local campaigns on very vital subjects. They play a big role in supporting community cohesion, and they are also important in terms of public notices and a platform for local businesses to advertise their goods and their services. Many of our local newspapers have, of course, been working in our communities for generations, centuries, some of them. The famous open times of Argyll is not only a highland-wide distribution but an international one as well within the Scottish diaspora. The Caithness Courier will, next month, celebrate its 150th anniversary, having first been published in March 31, 1866. Local newspapers are also important in providing jobs to young journalists and trainees at the start of their careers, and they provide such good training for journalists who often then move upwards to regional or national newspapers, or indeed other media forms. Many members of our esteemed parliamentary press corps started off on local newspapers, which provided them with such a good grounding. We also have some fantastic freelance journalists in the Highlands and Islands working for local, regional and national papers. I was delighted to see Oban-based Moira Care win the 2016 Diageo Journalist of the Year award at the recent Highlands and Islands press ball, and she is a credit to her profession. Congratulations should also go to the Strathspae and Badenock Herald for winning the Newspaper of the Year award for the second year in succession, and Chatterbox, which serves the Black Isle, was named Community Newspaper of the Year, and that's just a few in my region of the Highlands and Islands. I can't name them all. Graham Day is quite right to voice concern about the future of a number of local newspaper titles within the ownership of Johnston Press and their possible sale to other parties. I note that the motion today identifies the Buteman in Argyll and Bute in my regions as a newspaper deemed sub-core. I know many Bute residents would be surprised to hear this, as the Buteman has such a good reputation and is very much embedded in the community of that beautiful island, and the idea of losing it is one we can scarcely contemplate. At the same time, I understand economic realities and the financial pressures facing newspapers, owners and publishers as reading habits and readership demographic change. More and more people choose to get their news online rather than buying a newspaper, and local businesses choose to use one of the many other kinds of advertising that weren't available just a few years ago. I think most people, my children's age, would go to news websites, Google or Twitter for their news and would try to get local news there as well instead of buying the local paper. But in this context, I must mention For Argyll, their website, whose coverage of all key issues in Argyll and Bute and insightful analysis makes it such a popular news source run by Linda Henderson, a first-class journalist. So changes in how we access news is a huge threat to the future of additional local papers and indeed all printed productions, but there must also be opportunities if local newspapers can adapt and digitalise services and make them user-friendly for people of all ages. Some national newspapers have achieved this so there is potential, but it does take investment from newspaper owners and the publishers. So to conclude, Presiding Officer, I restate that Scottish Conservatives full support for local newspapers and pay tribute to the efforts of all those journalists and local newspaper employees who work so hard to keep us informed each and every week. Thank you, Mr McGregor. I note your courtesy in informing the chamber that you cannot stay. I call Christine Grahame, and after that we will call the minister. I, too, congratulate Grahame Day on securing this debate. Although the motion refers to announcements by Johnston Press, it also has a wider remit, although Johnston Press includes a paper in my constituency, the Midlothian Advertiser. They are all so important local papers to keep my constituents and me informed. I have a range of them. I don't just have one, such as my colleague George Adam. I have the Peebleshire News, which covers Peebles in Tweedia West, the board of telegraph and southern reporter covering the central borders, the corridor of the A7 and the A68. I have the Midlothian Advertiser and the Midlothian part of my constituents. The evening news, the evening news, as well as the seven communities in Penicook, Gorebridge and Newton Grange. All of those local papers are, for me, essential. They go into detail over issues of controversial planning in local areas, schools to close or not to close what is happening, the state of the roads, why the bridge is down, if the river has overflowed, the announcements, the hatches, matches and dispatches, who has been jailed, who has been fined, they make local justice public, they do it through all the local festivals, with all the wonderful photographs, they even raise campaigns, they raise funds and they tell everyone what local charities are doing and they report not just on councils but on community councils. They are not only embedded in the community, they are knowledgeable about that community. When I first came in here, I think as you yourself did, Deputy Presiding Officer, 17 years ago, how time flies, local papers were rich in staff with reporters and photographers, cub reporters, as others have said, who honed the reporting skill at the local press. Now, with 24-hour news online, the national press is really challenged for its raison d'etre, but local papers are not quite so vulnerable, they are vulnerable to losing advertising but not through the reporting of news. They can take time over local issues and let a controversial issue run over weeks, not just churn it over. They of course sometimes break, as others have said, national stories and actually give local reporters sometimes a break into the national news. For me, as a reader and contributor, either through my press comments or releases or my fortnightly or monthly columns, they keep me and my constituents in touch and actually keep me on my toes. Yet they are not as vulnerable, as I have said as the nationals, but they are vulnerable and must not be lost or diminished. They remain key to keeping politicians local and national accountable, and they are generally without party political bias, which one cannot say about the national press. We will all rely on them in the coming weeks, in the Scottish elections when they will have our manifestos and our hustings and so on, so they are vital to democracy. To quote a border's expression, they have I been. We must make sure that I am going to be, but I want to finish my short contribution on two of my favourite headlines from local papers, not on the borders. It is when I lived in Galloway. It was at Galloway Gazette. One was a big banner headline, Rami at Whophill. Two women, each batting each other with handbags or we bit too much alcohol in them. A wonderful headline. In the other one, the top that wouldn't. The top cost a fortune, but I'm afraid it turned out wasn't interested in the use. To prove that, the sheriff in the entire court went out in the middle of the field and watched the top paying no attention to the much-needed use. Where else would you have such wonderful headlines that I can still recall to this day? I celebrate local papers and hope that local people continue to buy them. Thank you very much. I now invite Humza Yousaf to respond to the debate, Minister. Seven minutes, please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. My thanks, of course, to Graham Day for bringing forward this very important motion to the chamber. It's hugely important. It doesn't matter which part of the country you cover from the north to the south, the east to the west, all of us in our constituencies will have a local paper, if not, as Christine Graham said, a number of local papers. Local press is hugely important to the Scottish Government very much in support of local news and local papers, too. For a number of reasons that have been mentioned, and I'll just reiterate some of them. The stories that we see in local papers often don't see the light of day. I was interested to hear about George Adams' uncle looking out for whoever was going to the court. I'm saying this in knowledge. I hope that he never saw his nephew on the front of those papers in any negative way. Often, newspapers that I know and my constituents in the region that I represent in Glasgow, often stories that take place in a big city like Glasgow, will be missed out by the national press, because there are so many other things that dominate in the city. I thought that the point was well made by George Adams and others that good news gets a platform in local papers, which we don't often see in national papers. That can be anything from a local church group with a bake sale, raising money for McMillans right the way through to a fantastic feat, maybe a marathon run by somebody to raise money for another good cause. Many, many good causes that we don't often see the light of day and can often remind us that there's some good happening in the world, as well as the bad that we're often bombarded with. Local campaigns are given a real boost and a lease of life by local newspapers. That can be from anything from planning of wind farms, which often, no doubt, evokes a lot of emotion to local incinerators being planned and so on and so forth. Local campaigns are very much given lifeline by local newspapers. The point that I thought was well made by John McAlpine, Graham Day and Jamie McGregor on training journalists. A number of—I think that Jamie McGregor mentioned using the phrase, our esteemed press corps in the Holyrood. Of course, I would concur with that description. I think that the training of journalists, many of them that have come through the ranks of local papers, gave them that grounding that they needed, doing the graft local papers, often not just writing the stories but having to take the pictures and everything else, as given them a great grounding for national titles. As well, I know that John McAlpine went through that route. Graham Day wrote for a weekly session of paper. I myself, Presiding Officer, wrote for a local paper. My dad still has the cut-out from the phrase of Braherald when I was interning for a one Alex Salmond and I got a piece in the press about a local curry shop that had come third in a national curry competition. It said that Mr Sonny's competition is too hot to handle at the age of 19, delighted with that headline. Local businesses as well. We should make mention that many small businesses will not be able to afford to advertise, of course, in national newspapers, nor would it make sense for them to do so, but having local papers to be able to advertise again can be a lifeline for them in these times when margins of profit are very, very tight. Indeed, a local takeaway, a local convenience store or other local services and shops' businesses rely on the advertising and the spread that local papers give them. In terms of what I think is most important for local papers and why the decision by Johnson Press is deeply worrying is that local papers keep us politicians to account, sometimes more than national newspapers. In terms of the Government, we will get inquiries coming in from national papers left, right and centre, but it will often be the local papers that come in with inquiries that keep us to account, that ask us our opinions on the x, y, z issue that is happening locally and that force us to have to make a decision using our sound judgment on those. That is not just true of MSP colleagues here, but also true of local authorities, councillors and MPs, of course. It goes without saying. I do not often agree sometimes what is in the papers. I look at the titles across the Johnson Press, and there will be many times stories written that I think have been unfair to the Government, perhaps to me personally, but that frankly is irrelevant. The point is that they are vital for healthy democracy. Even those papers that might have a bias against the Government or the particular political party is in the interests of all of us that we come together to defend them. That is why I am delighted that Graham Day's motion had those 38 MSPs from across the Parliamentary chamber. Yes, I accept that Johnson Press has to face up to the economic realities. No newspaper has cracked how to make money off the internet. Nobody has done that. Even those websites that are viewed the most will tell you that that only helps to subsidise the print editions, and at best they are breaking even. Even the very top ones, the ones that have the most clicks per day, will tell you that that only helps them to break even. In terms of advice for Johnson Press, some of what Graham Day said in his opening remarks would be some good advice for Johnson Press. Some of that is about tone. We understand the economic realities of what is happening, but a number of communities and a number of staff who work for those titles have been upset by the labelling of a sub-core, which has clearly upset many communities. I also thought that what Graham Day said in his opening remarks is incredibly important about engaging. Yes, all of us understand the financial circumstances that Johnson Press is under. We read about it, hear about it and meet the staff. Engage with the MSPs, the local communities and let's see if there is an alternative to having the worst-case scenario that would be to having to close down those offices. As well as challenges that Johnson Press and other newspaper groups face, there are also many opportunities as well. I think that every member of the Scottish Parliament would recognise that there is a huge appetite for news, particularly post the referendum, and particularly amongst young people. More and more of them are going online to want to know what is happening in the world, but it would be a real shame if young people or anybody, frankly, knew everything that was happening in the home of Kim Kardashian but had no idea what was going on in their local community. I do not want to make an ages comment, but a lot of elderly people do not go online and they in particular rely on local papers. I would accept and agree that point as well. Even many elderly people, I mean I have many family members who are older and they will use the internet and go online for their information as well, but it would be a real shame. I mean this is not to say that people shouldn't go online and should look for news that is of interest to them, but it would be a real shame if that was done to the detriment of knowing what was happening in the local community. I support the Government's support for a heartedly Graham Day's motion. The local press and local newspapers are important for a polarity of reasons that have been expressed here, and I thank the member once again for bringing this debate to the parliamentary chamber. Thank you minister. That concludes Graham Day's debate on the importance of local newspapers. Can members note the earlier time for returning today? I now suspend this meeting until 2 p.m.