By Simon Donohue

I’ve been covering the media scene in Greater Manchester since the late 90s, initially as Media Business correspondent at the Manchester Evening News (15 years charting incredible changes), then more recently in a PR and comms capacity.

Initially, the story for broadcast media was one of managed decline and I locked swords on more than one occasion with senior figures at ITV and Granada as they lobbied hard against public service quotas that guaranteed local programming and news output.

My major concern as a journalist was the threat to jobs, but I was also passionate about protecting the incredible legacy of Sir Sidney Bernstein’s great Granada franchise, which arguably did more to put Manchester and North West creativity on the map than anything before or since.

In hindsight, I grudgingly accept that harsh economic realities were a factor. Making television is expensive and local programming drains production…