Will the SNP give more than warm words to help Scottish journalism?
This week's Behind the Headlines comes from content editor Xander Elliards. To receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every week for free, click here.
IT is easier to learn about Scotland's green hydrogen industry from German television than from UK broadcasters, Culture Secretary Angus Robertson told a room of journalists and editors at Holyrood on Thursday.
The remark was a stark reflection on the state of Scotland's media – one that grew sharper as Robertson continued.
The SNP minister, himself a former BBC journalist, lamented the near-absence of foreign correspondents with regular slots in Scottish newspapers, saying he could count them 'on one finger' – a reference to The National's David Pratt.
He acknowledged the broader crisis: Shrinking resources, job cuts, and a media landscape struggling under commercial pressures.
A meeting was held in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday to discuss the fledgling Scottish Public Interest Journalism Institute (Image: Gordon Terris) 'Cuts, shrinkages to the industry – they've all had significant wider impacts on our institutions, culture, and society,' he said.
'Nevertheless, it's heartening to hear about the potential of the new institute and how it could be utilised to help support and preserve our independent publications and local titles and to ensure that we have an industry well into the future.'
Robertson's reference was to the fledgling Scottish Public Interest Journalism Institute (SPIJI), which is set to officially launch next month (or thereabouts).
SPIJI was recommended by the Scottish Government's own Public Interest Journalism Working Group – formed in 2021 to tackle the pandemic-era and structural threats facing Scottish newsrooms.
Chaired by The National's founding editor Richard Walker, the institute aims to follow models such as the Dutch Journalism Fund: An arm's-length, state-backed body that invests in media as a democratic necessity.
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But progress has been slow, not least because the SNP have been reticent to give the group anything more than warm words.
Back in 2022, when the idea was supported by the Scottish Government, Robertson said: 'We want to do all we can to support the sustainability and diversity of public interest journalism in Scotland and we will be working closely with industry stakeholders to see how an institute could help to ensure the sector remains resilient.'
All they can, it seems, except put their money where their mouth is.
At the meeting in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, an array of Scottish writers, from freelancers and researchers to editors and reporters, spoke frankly about the state of the industry.
One contributor described a vicious cycle: Falling print sales trigger cost-cutting and staff losses, quality declines, prices rise, readers abandon ship, and the spiral deepens.
READ MORE: Assa Samake-Roman: We need to look at where our money vanishes to
The cause is no mystery: Shareholders' pockets need to be lined, and public service journalism suffers.
SPIJI offers an alternative. Its goal is to support local and independent journalism in ways commercial executives won't, and to defend Scotland's democracy by ensuring its citizens are informed. Because when the media falters, democratic accountability weakens.
That's why the SNP's inaction on this matters. It is not enough to simply acknowledge the problem.
If the Scottish Government truly believes a strong Scottish media is essential to a strong Scottish democracy, then it must do more than make speeches. It must fund that future.
Our media needs more than warm words. It needs investment. Without it, who will tell Scotland's story?
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Sunday Post
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'While England and Wales are jailing abusers under DAPOs, SNP ministers have shelved the same powers in Scotland and are now blaming their own legislation. 'This is a shameful failure – and it lies squarely at the feet of the SNP and John Swinney. 'We need action, not warm words. Vulnerable women and children are being let down because of their incompetence and inaction.' The Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act was passed by MSPs of all parties in March 2021 – by 118 votes to 0. Then Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf hailed it as 'transformational legislation', predicting it would help between 600 and 3,000 families a year. He told Holyrood: 'We collectively have a duty to ensure that our law and law-enforcement agencies have the tools to (protect) victims… 'We should never again have that stain on our collective conscience that victims of domestic abuse – predominantly women – must flee their homes in order to protect themselves.' The Act targets perpetrators in two ways. 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'Once determined and agreed, we will look to consult more widely in 2026 and thereafter consider the need for legislation.' The Scottish Government said it is handing £21.6 million this year to more than 100 organisations working to prevent violence against women and girls and support survivors. It said: 'We are committed to fully implementing the Act 2021. This is a complex piece of legislation, and through extensive and close working with stakeholders several unexpected operational challenges have been raised. 'A short-life working group is being established to consider possible legislative changes to ensure the Act can be implemented as intended and so it works for people. We will then consult on any proposed changes.' A catalogue of ministers have played their part in the failure to implement the Act. Nicola Sturgeon used the 2019 SNP party conference to announce the coming of DAPOs – and repeated the pledge in her Programme for Government speech of 2020. Her successor, Humza Yousaf, was justice secretary when the law was passed. Both are set to leave Holyrood at the election next year with golden goodbye resettlement grants in excess of £100,000 without having seen through their promises to domestic abuse victims. Among other justice secretaries, Michael Matheson – another about to stand down as an MSP – first touted the orders in 2017 while Keith Brown claimed Part 2 would go live in 2022. Current incumbent Angela Constance insisted those landlord powers would be up and running by spring 2024. So too did Deputy First Minister Shona Robison, when she was social justice secretary, and ex-housing minister McLennan. Minister for parliamentary business Jamie Hepburn and equalities minister Kaukab Stewart have been liaising with committees about the delays. It was Brown, the victims and community safety minister , who wrote to MSPs on Holyrood's equalities committee last week to reveal that DAPOs have been put on the back-burner. She said: 'We will look to consult more widely in 2026 and thereafter consider the need for legislation.' Timeline How progress stalled after government promises nearly eight years ago. Nov 2017 Justice secretary Michael Matheson reveals plan for new orders. Oct 2019 Sturgeon to SNP conference: 'Within this parliamentary term, we will introduce a new law to establish emergency protective orders.' Sept 2020 Programme for Government: 'The experience of lockdown reiterated the importance of protecting women and girls…facing domestic abuse.' Oct 2020 The Bill is introduced along with consultation. Jan 2021 Justice committee backs the Bill but says more work needed to make it practical. Mar 2021 The Bill becomes law after MSPs vote. Apr 2021 Westminster passes its own Domestic Abuse Act for DAPOs/DAPNs in England and Wales. Winter 2022 Deadline missed to implement Part 2, which gives powers to landlords to eject abusers. Sept 2023 Justice Secretary Angela Constance: 'Detail being worked through.' Working group set up to discuss Part 1. Spring 2024 Another deadline to implement Part 2 of the Bill is missed. Jun 2024 Housing minister Paul McLennan: 'I don't know how that would actually work.' Nov 2024 Pilot schemes activated across England and Wales. Police begin using the orders. Mar 2025 Workshop held to discuss Part 1. Jun 2025 Part 1 shelved indefinitely with new working group and consultation to be set up in 2026. Dec 2025 New deadline for Part 2, but warning that it may be delayed yet again. OPINION: Survivors affected by lack of urgency By Sophie Berry, Solicitor at the Govan Law Centre, Glasgow It really is incredible that here we are, yet another year down the line, and still there's no sign of the key parts of this legislation being implemented, just endless delays and excuses. Deadlines missed and promises broken, but plenty of time for a workshop, consultations and working groups. It's unbelievably frustrating for all of Scotland's domestic abuse organisations that have contributed significant time and resources to bringing this legislation into existence. Far more importantly, though, these are potentially life-and-death measures for survivors who continue to be affected by the lack of urgency with still no end in sight. Almost 64,000 domestic abuse cases were reported to Police Scotland in 2023/24, with 81% involving a male perpetrator and a female victim. Every day at Govan Law Centre's Women's Rights Project, we see women and children suffering the consequences of the failure to put these protections in place. Yet, at the same time, we hear that significant progress is being made in England and Wales, with pilot schemes which appear to be making a real difference to the lives of survivors. It makes no sense. Women are most at risk just when they are trying to leave an abusive partner. Giving the police the power to intervene on behalf of a person at imminent risk could make a vital difference at the most critical time. And that's as true today as it was in 2021, so any further delay would be unforgivable.
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