Nasty little campaign
A couple of weeks ago the County Council’s magazine Northumberland News was attacked in an article in the Independent. They said council magazines were ‘undermining commercial newspaper businesses’.
Yes, some council publications carry advertising but 45% of them don’t. Ads comprise less than 10% of another third, including, by the look of it, the Northumberland News. Only four per cent of them publish more than quarterly. Are they really a serious threat to local weekly and evening newspapers?
Councils need to publish them to give their electorate information which newspapers won’t carry. Democracy will suffer if they are not allowed to do this.
The National Union of Journalists, to which I belong, can comment even-handedly on this because it has members working in both areas.
The only outcome of this nasty little campaign will be to make journalists working on council newspapers redundant. It won’t make viable regional newspapers which are struggling, whether because of blogs and the web or the economic downturn or the insatiable quest for increased profits rather than re-investment in the product.
Tim Jones
Noble Tim Jones of THE NATIONAL UNION FOR JOURNALISTS,
I write in response to your hot cup of tea entitled: “Nasty little campaign”
What you may have perceived as an Act of Suppression (in the most VERBAL sense)
I processed entirely differently!–Who can Stifle to VOICE OF THE PEOPLE!–we are the very “WHEELS” under the Social-Engine that relies on: ‘commercial-fuel’,,,,Yes I do confess, some of us are full of HOT-AIR….my own Ego being the MOST inflamed–I will admit–BUT I do take it as the HIGHEST Compliment!–that this “Independent” Press!–would feel: “Undermined” by such a little–helpless–powerless–abused–voiceless–NON-commercial–TRULY Independent–TRULY rooted in Democratic-Values:: GEM OF THE PRESS such as YOU are!–for what is “The Press” without the VOICE of the people?–Pre-Scripted “writers” Choking on Political and Governmental STRINGS that Move The Puppet Writer according to whatever the: “Partial-Truth” of The Hour is–leaving all MIND out of it!
SHANNAH SCHILIT USA