A consortium led by some of Scotland's largest newspaper owners has been named as preferred bidder to produce television news bulletins on STV.

The Scottish News Consortium (SNC) was selected for a two-year pilot and will share part of £47m in public money made available to support regional news, initially in three areas across the UK. 

The consortium is made up of Johnston Press, which publishes the Scotsman, Newsquest subsidiary the Herald and Times Group, Question Time producer Tinopolis, and publishing group DC Thomson. It was preferred to the group led by STV along with Bauer Media and ITN.

The Department of Culture Media and Sport said SNC had set out "an imaginative and innovative cross-platform approach to news provision adding the reporting resources of its partner newspapers and a new website to a strong TV proposition".  

SNC chairman Mark Wood said: “We have a unique opportunity to change the nature of news provision for the people of Scotland for the better, and we are confident that we will. 

"Our radical plans will stimulate interest and debate around news at local, regional and national level. We will build on the proud tradition of independent thinking in Scotland by listening to and engaging with the people, so that the issues and stories we cover are ones which are important to them. We will give Scotland the service it deserves.”

On its website, ScotlandFirst - the proposed name for the new service - said it would produce fresh new programming such as “News from Your Neighbourhood” which will be "a two to three minute slot produced by local citizens from across the nation to let them raise issues or talk about the things that matter to them".

An STV spokesperson said: “STV will now look to engage with Scottish News Consortium to discuss the continued provision of a high quality news service to STV’s viewers.”

Richard Hooper, chair of the independent selection panel, said: “The members of the selection panel and I were most impressed by the quality of the applications.  We had to make some very difficult decisions, knowing that we would disappoint teams that had worked long and hard on their proposals.  

"The overall quality of the submissions was high with companies both big and small working together. Bidders understood the implications of convergence, demonstrating how television, local newspapers, the internet, local radio could work together in new and interesting ways. 

“In Wales and Scotland, in addition to strong proposals for regional, local and hyperlocal/community news, the bidders put forward credible ideas for quality news for those nations which is urgently needed as a result of devolution.   

"We asked for innovation and were not disappointed. We asked bidders also to think about longer term sustainability without public funds."

The contracts are expected to signed shortly. However, the Conservatives have pledged to try to unpick any deal if they are in power after the general election.

Mr Hooper said: "Given the political uncertainties surrounding IFNCs, my colleagues and I were particularly impressed by the sustained enthusiasm and resource commitment of the bidders and the momentum that has built up to deliver innovative multi-platform multi-layered news in Wales, Scotland and the Borders/Tyne Tees region of England, competing with the BBC.”

Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw said: “This is an important step towards our goal of ensuring choice for people who value high quality, independent local news. I’d like to congratulate all the bidders involved and all the members of the independent panel who under the chairmanship of Richard Hooper have worked tirelessly to complete a thorough and rigorous process to ensure the preferred bidders are the right choice for Scotland, Wales and the Tyne Tees/Border region.

“The funding available to these consortia represents a massive commitment from this Government to help encourage the long term sustainability of news in the nations, locally and in the regions. I hope this focussed work will now continue with everyone working together to ensure these pilots are up and running by the end of the year.”