Free press: DEFA payments for media coverage

Summary

The request sought details of DEFA payments for sponsored newspaper articles over five financial years to ensure press scrutiny. The authority disclosed that no payments were made in 2019-2020, but provided specific amounts and article titles for the IOM Examiner and IOM Courier for the subsequent four years.

Key Facts

• DEFA made no payments for sponsored articles in the 2019-2020 financial year.
• The IOM Examiner received £5,500 annually for 'Food and Farming' articles from 2020-2021 through 2023-2024.
• The IOM Courier received £5,000 in 2022-2023 for energy efficiency campaigns and £1,895 in 2023-2024 for net zero and wildlife features.
• Sponsored content included both printed articles and digital campaigns on IOM Today and Gef.im.
• The request was fully satisfied with all information sent on 28 May 2024.

Data Disclosed

• 2019-2020
• 2020-2021
• 2021-2022
• 2022-2023
• 2023-2024
• £5500.00
• £5000.00
• £1895
• Nil
• 2024-05-03
• 2024-05-28
• 3838898

Original Request

In the interest of protecting the right to a free press and allowing the press the free right to scrutinise Government: For the last 5 full financial years, please provide details of how much, by year, DEFA has paid to sponsor contracted newspaper articles within the Manx printed press such as (and specifically including) the 'Food and Farming' pages. Please state the name of the media and the identifiable article name for each purchase/order/contract. Should the above request be refused on the grounds of commercial confidentially (surely irrelevant when there's no competition to the sole provider of printed media), please state the names of all contracted articles and the combined price over the five year period stated above.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator Corporate Services Directorate Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale Road, St John’s, Isle of Man, IM4 3AS Tel no (01624) 685854 Fax no (01624 685851 Email: defa@gov.im www.gov.im

Our ref: 3838898 28 May 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 3 May 2024, which states:

"In the interest of protecting the right to a free press and allowing the press the free right to scrutinise Government:

For the last 5 full financial years, please provide details of how much, by year, DEFA has paid to sponsor contracted newspaper articles within the Manx printed press such as (and specifically including) the 'Food and Farming' pages. Please state the name of the media and the identifiable article name for each purchase/order/contract.

Should the above request be refused on the grounds of commercial confidentially (surely irrelevant when there's no competition to the sole provider of printed media), please state the names of all contracted articles and the combined price over the five year period stated above."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

Year Value Name of Media Article Name 2019-2020 Nil N/A N/A 2020-2021 £5500.00 IOM Examiner Food and Farming 2021-2022 £5500.00 IOM Examiner Food and Farming 2022-2023 £5500.00 IOM Examiner Food and Farming

£5000.00 IOM Courier1 Energy Efficiency Scheme to take advantage of this winter

Moving to low carbon heat

Free home energy health checks welcomed by Manx residents 2023-2024 £5500 IOM Examiner Food and Farming

£1895 IOM Courier2 Net zero: You have the power to make a positive difference to climate change

Experience Gaia

1 Energy Efficiency Campaign which included double page spread and single page article in IOM Courier; sponsored articles on IOM Today website; and ‘Gef’s top tips on how to keep your house warmer than the fridge’, written by Gef and sponsored on Gef.im website.

2 IOM Courier article and articles sponsored on IOM Today, inclusive of digital ad campaign for Gaia; and including Manx Wildlife Week feature.

Please quote the reference number 3838898 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely