Editor Nancy Fielder invites Prime Minister to Sheffield to see The Star in actionÂ

At a reception in No 10 Downing Street yesterday, Prime Minister Theresa May spoke of the importance of local media to an audience of regional press editors, journalists, chief executives and senior management, and representatives from the News Media Association.

Mrs May said that she is committed to safeguarding the future of local media which is a highly trusted news source for millions of people and '˜the backbone of this country's democracy'. 

Nancy Fielder, Editor of The Sheffield Star, attended the reception. She said: "I was delighted to hear the Prime Minister show her support for local newspapers at a very challenging time for the industry.

"I did, of course, take the opportunity to tell her about Sheffield's resurgence in manufacturing, our blossoming digital community and invited her to come and see it for herself. 

"Local newspapers and journalists play a really important in promoting everything good about their patch but also holding people and organisations to account when things go wrong.'

In her speech, Mrs May also spoke of the Cairncross Review which launched earlier this year to look at ways of safeguarding the industry amid a widespread decline in print circulation and ad revenues.

She said: 'I know from the discussions I have with my own local paper the significant pressures that are on regional and local press at the moment.

'Nowhere is this more true than in print journalism where the rapid changes in consumer behaviour and technology have led to falling circulations and advertising revenues. As we know, a quarter of local papers have closed in the past decade.

'That is why we launched the Cairncross Review, to examine what more we can do to improve the long term sustainability of high quality journalism, because it is that high quality journalism, at a local and regional level, that is so important in underpinning our democracy.

'Obviously, we'll wait for the review's findings and recommendations before we make specific policy decisions but nothing is off the table.

'This commission was launched because we see that there is a problem there and we need to have those voices looking into it for us and coming forward with their recommendations.'