Luke Pollard, ​the MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, thinks it is a sad day for local journalism with the news that Radio Plymouth is being bought by a media giant and rebranded.

Commenting on the sale of Radio Plymouth to Bauer Media, Plymouth MP Luke Pollard said:

“This is a depressing day for quality local journalism. Radio Plymouth was proudly Plymouth in its content, its outlook, its staffing and its advertising. The reality is that its local link will now be stripped away and lost.

 

“Radio Plymouth is being absorbed into a giant media blob to push out generic so-called greatest hits. I fear we will lose the local content and its Plymouth identity will be lost in weeks if Bauer follows the pattern of previous purchases.

 

“I have always found Radio Plymouth’s staff to be truly passionate about Plymouth and our issues. The loss of this radio station has been on the cards with local advertising falling off a cliff because of the virus. I have spoken to staff and wish them the very best.

 

“What this does mean is that we need to keep pressure on the BBC to preserve BBC Radio Devon’s unique local output, otherwise all our local stations will have been lost in favour of bland, generic and disappointing national output with an occasional local jingle or advert.”

Bauer’s purchase of Radio Plymouth was announced today. Bauer bought Pirate FM in Cornwall earlier this year and has bought nearly 28 radio stations nationwide in the past year.