Some cuts have been justified, there has been over-staffing, "but there are also examples, most obviously in local and regionalism papers, where cuts have reduced the possibility of reporters doing their jobs and ended the papers' ability to act as watchdogs.
"Justice in some courts is no longer being seen to be done. Police forces, having already erected a defensive PR screen to keep the press at bay, now find that there is little journalistic probing to worry about.
"Crime is covered, forming a disproportionate part of local paper editorial agendas, but only in the most superficial way, as a series of fear-inducing sensationalist events, lacking in any analysis. These are routinely spoon-fed to reporters down the phone."
[Roy Greenslade]
