Is consolidation the best hope for regional papers?

Mergers and acquisitions in the sector would help cut costs and make some balance sheets look more healthy in the short term. However, from an agency point of view, this does not address the main issue.

Our clients increasingly brief us to build trust and close relationships with their customers; "local to me" is a great brand value, yet regional press is struggling to deliver. Group publishers are working hard to compete with more flexible new-media channels that are taking regional share at a lower cost.

We welcome their efforts so far, but a much more healthy future for regional press would be to see some real innovation - a Google-style revolution of regional communications. Without innovation, the long-term pain for the sector will not go away.

NO - Sal Bhatti, account director, MediaVest

For a media buyer, consolidation is a big, bulky and, in some instances, bruising word.

It's an understandably attractive avenue for a regional media owner with falling audience share but, in my opinion, it is not the best direction to attract advertisers. Surely regional media owners would be better equipped to survive if they worked on the quality and exposure of their multimedia portfolio?

Regional media has a unique offer: personalisation and localisation. Owners need to harness these features, align their activity with market conditions and be open to adapt to an evolving media and economic landscape. They need to step into new and alternative media while embracing and extending their unique relationship with their audience.

YES - ason Spencer, managing director, PHD North

Regional newspapers face greater challenges than competition from each other. Their advertising lifeblood (recruitment, property, retail) has declined dramatically.

Keeping existing readers and reaching new ones has required evolution, for example to the free model, and extension to online models. Consolidated third-party media sales houses such as AMRA (regional press) and Medialink (cinema, press, radio, online) ease overheads and prove regional media can work.

But quality is the key. The product must come first. Publishers and media owners must invest in producing a top-notch product, regardless of the model, otherwise regional press will face steeper decline.

Furthermore, the service to media agencies must follow swiftly after any changes - insight and ideas delivered through credible, empowered sales teams remain essential.

NO - Melissa Smith, head of regional media, Universal McCann

It's understandable that media owners would look for greater consolidation in the current economic climate.

However, as far as regional press is concerned, this wouldn't be in the interests of advertisers, as it would be likely to drive up pricing in what is already an expensive medium. As it is, there are numerous local markets where a single buying point sells all the key titles in the area, giving buyers little flexibility.

What is needed is a change in approach by media owners, with imaginative solutions designed to open up new revenue streams. There is still huge potential in digital, which is not as yet being sold very compellingly to regional press buyers. Beyond digital, there have been some quite radical propositions, such as Newsquest's content partnerships, which point the way forward.

Innovation is the best hope for regional media.