HC Deb 10 March 2000 vol 345 cc870-3W
Mr. Brady

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the(a) national, (b) regional and (c) local newspapers and media bodies to which his Department sent news releases during the period 2 May 1997 to 29 February 2000. [113987]

Mr. Robin Cook

Most news releases (including the FCO Daily Bulletin) are distributed electronically via the COI news Distribution Service. In addition a number of newspapers and media organisations receive this material by fax. Both distribution lists are attached. Press releases also appear on the FCO website.

In addition, individual releases are faxed, on request and/or out of hours to other members of the press on an ad hoc basis. Records are not kept of these additional, ad hoc transmissions.

COI News Distribution Service Media outlets served electronically National Press (Dailies)

  • Daily Express
  • Daily Mail
  • Daily Mirror
  • Daily Star
  • Daily Telegraph
  • Financial Times
  • Guardian
  • Independent
  • Sun
  • The Times

National Press (Sundays)

  • Independent on Sunday
  • Mail on Sunday
  • News of the World
  • Observer
  • People
  • Sunday Express
  • Sunday Mirror
  • Sunday Telegraph
  • Sunday Times

Regional Press

  • Aberdeen Express 1
  • Aberdeen Journal 1
  • Belfast Telegraph 1
  • Birmingham Post 1
  • Bolton Evening News 1
  • Derby Evening Telegraph 1
  • Eastern Daily Press 1
    • 871W
  • Evening Standard
  • Exeter Evening Echo 1
  • Exeter Express 1
  • Gloucestershire Echo 1
  • Gloucester Citizen 1
  • Hull Daily Mail 1
  • Leicester Mercury 1
  • Lincolnshire Echo 1
  • Liverpool Daily Post 1
  • Manchester Evening News
  • Middlesbrough Evening Gazette 1
  • Newcastle Evening Chronicle 1
  • Newcastle Journal 1
  • Nottingham Evening Post 1
  • Plymouth Herald 1
  • Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph 1
  • South Wales Echo 1
  • South Wales Evening Post 1
  • Stoke Sentinel 1
  • Western Daily Press 1
  • Western Mail 1
  • Yorkshire Post 1

Broadcasting Organisations

  • BBC Bush House
  • BBC Radio News2
  • BBC Television News2
  • Channel Five TV
  • Channel Four News
  • Channel One TV
  • Chiltern Radio
  • Chinese TV Network3
  • GMTV
  • IRN2
  • ITN2
  • Metro Networks (Virgin Radio)
  • Sky TV
  • World Television News/British Satellite News

News Agencies

  • AFX News
  • AP Dow Jones
  • Associated Press
  • Bloomberg Business News
  • Exchange Telegraph
  • Bridge News
  • Market News Service
  • McGraw Hill3
  • Network News
  • News Limited of Australia
  • Newspoint
  • Press Association
  • Reuters
  • Robinsons3
  • Universal Pictorial3
  • UPI

Misc.

  • Accountancy Age 3
  • The Economist
  • House Magazine
  • House of Commons POLIS Information System
  • Local Government Chronicle
  • Reed Business Publishing
  • 1 Lobby correspondents only
  • 2 Also cascades press releases to local broadcasting outlets
  • 3 Receive twice-daily summary

FCO Press Releases: Fax Distribution List (in alphabetical order)

  • AFX News
  • Agence France Presse
  • Al Ahram
  • Al Hayat
  • Al Wasat
  • Al Majalla
  • ANSA
  • Arabic News Network
  • Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  • BBC Leicester
  • BBC Public Affairs
  • Catholic Herald
  • Channel 5
  • Chinese Xin Hua News Agency
  • Deutsche Presse-Agentur
  • Dubai TV
  • The Economist
  • EFTR Associates
  • Emirates News Agency
  • European Business News
  • Financial Times
  • Foreign Press Association
  • Hel Financieele Dagbald Elsevier
  • The Independent
  • Iranian News Agency
  • Iraqi News Agency
  • Israel Radio
  • Israeli News
  • Kuwait News Agency
  • London Radio Service
  • MBC
  • Media Services Syndicate
  • News Agency of Nigeria
  • Newsweek
  • Overseas Trade Magazine
  • Parliamentary and EU News Service
  • Public Sector Information
  • Radio Free Europe
  • Sabah
  • Saudi News Agency
  • The Scotsman
  • Springer Foreign News Service
  • Stars and Stripes
  • The Sunday Times
  • Survival International
    • 873W
  • Syrian News Agency
  • Teacher Magazine
  • The Times
  • Universal Pictorial Press
  • Visnews (Reuters Television)

Note:

Many organisations now access the Daily Bulletin and press releases via the FCO website.

Mr. Brady

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for the period 2 May 1997 to 29 February 2000 what was(a) the number of occasions on which couriers were used to distribute news releases from his Department and (b) the total cost of using couriers to distribute news releases. [113975]

Mr. Robin Cook

Over this period, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not distributed its news releases to media organisations by courier.

The FCO Daily Bulletin is distributed to Commonwealth High Commissions in London by courier, as part of regular deliveries of other FCO correspondence. Until September 1999 this service was provided in house. Since September 1999 these services have been contracted out.

The cost of delivering news releases in this courier service, as distinct from the costs of delivering other mail distributed with them, is not calculated. To provide a separate breakdown of the cost of delivering news releases, as a proportion of the total volume of correspondence distributed to High Commissions, would incur disproportionate costs.