By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
Beersheba Mayor Rubik Danilovitch and a group of other mayors from the Negev area have written to Information Minister Yuli Edelstein and to other government officials to plead that the Israel Broadcasting Authority not be allowed to close down its local news service on Channel One, reports www.local.co.il. The Negev mayors said the service had "huge social and national significance," and should not be allowed to end.
"As the heads of local authorities in the south, we are alert to the great importance of the local news," the letter said. "These editions bring the voice of the periphery to the attention of the public. Usually, events that take place in the periphery are covered by the media only when there is a disaster or a crime. Against this, the local editions have enabled coverage of continuing events, events of education and culture … they opened for the public of Israel a skylight on what is happening in the periphery."
The mayors added that closing the service would also put dozens of people out of work. No response was reported from the minister or other recipients of the letter.
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