NEARLY 150 reporters are being recruited as part of a new partnership to boost coverage of council and public meetings across the UK, including in Hampshire.

The BBC’s Local News Partnerships have taken a key step towards the creation of a pool of local democracy reporters, designed to help hold public bodies to account.

Contracts to employ an initial 144 full-time and two part-time reporters have been allocated to 58 news organisations in England, Scotland and Wales following a competitive bidding process.

Those news organisations - ranging from a radio station to online media companies and established regional newspaper groups such as Newsquest, the owner of the Daily Echo - will now receive funding from the BBC to cover employment costs of the reporters.

Once recruited, stories written by the democracy reporters will be shared with more than 700 media organisations that have signed up to be part of the Local News Partnerships scheme.

Two of these reporters will be recruited to provide coverage for the Daily Echo and the Isle of Wight County Press and their associated sister papers in Hampshire.

David Holdsworth, controller of BBC English Regions, said: “This is a major advance in the partnership which will significantly improve the reporting on councils and public institutions, leading to greater public accountability for our local politicians."

As part of its charter commitment, the BBC is investing up to £8 million annually in the Local News Partnerships during the next nine years to the end of the charter in 2026.

The landmark partnership between the BBC and the News Media Association also includes a shared data unit, based at BBC Birmingham, and a facility allowing local news providers access to relevant regional BBC video and audio content.

The shared data unit will use BBC teams and seconded journalists from the wider industry to develop data journalism expertise. The first regional journalists to be seconded started on November 20.

Ashley Highfield, chair of the News Media Association, said: “The ground-breaking Local News Partnership between the NMA and the BBC is now becoming a reality which will benefit the BBC, local media and, most importantly, local communities.

“The initiative has moved the whole relationship between the BBC and the local media sector from confrontation to collaboration, and key benefits will include 150 new journalists on the ground holding public institutions to account on behalf of their readers."

To be awarded the democracy reporter contracts, the 58 successful news organisations had to pass stringent criteria which included financial stability and a strong track record of relevant journalism in the area they were applying to cover.

The next step will be for the successful organisations to start recruiting, with a view to becoming operational in the next few months.