Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Where's the Gazettes coverage? As usual, nowhere to be seen.
Today this story appeared in the Northern Echo with a copy of the poster to advertise the film.
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/4328764.House_of_Commons_viewing_for_town_campaigners____film/
It was practically the same as the one that appeared in The Sunday Sun a few days earlier only this time the council spokesman had suddenly become Mark Hannon? This massive story about an MP intervening in another MP's local authority was found towards the back of the paper which I found astonishing, but at least they have covered it. But what I find even more astonishing is that this areas main newspaper, this areas main source of information, haven't even made any mention of an MP from another constituency intervening in Redcar and Cleveland AT ALL?
For me this is similar to when the council were found to have acted unlawfully in the High Court in December 07 and apart from an inch long snippet on the front page of the Gazette, you had to go all the way to the back to find another two small columns that told the massive news?
For me the Gazette not running this story in any way at all yet, five days after the story broke on Radio Tees and approximately ten days after senior employees of the Gazette were invited to the House of Commons for the screening, is akin to the time when despite having a reporter there in the magistrates court in March 07, listening to Alan Logan stating that there wasn't going to be a visitor centre and there wasn't going to be an extreme sports centre and that the beach was going to be restricted use if the development went ahead, the Gazette didn't print a word, preferring to print the councils tired, lame and downright untrue line about all the leisure facilities that this scheme was going to bring.
It would appear now that over a period of five years, the Gazette have nailed their colours well and truly to the councils mast. Perhaps if we had a press officer who had worked for them for twenty years and we gave them lots of money in advertising, then we wouldn't have as much difficulty in getting such massive stories printed, on time and on a page in keeping with the magnitude of the story?
Sadly though, we don't. We can only hope that they are wanting to run the story nearer the time? But you would think as the most read local newspaper in this area, that they would have wanted to have been the first wouldn't you?
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/4328764.House_of_Commons_viewing_for_town_campaigners____film/
It was practically the same as the one that appeared in The Sunday Sun a few days earlier only this time the council spokesman had suddenly become Mark Hannon? This massive story about an MP intervening in another MP's local authority was found towards the back of the paper which I found astonishing, but at least they have covered it. But what I find even more astonishing is that this areas main newspaper, this areas main source of information, haven't even made any mention of an MP from another constituency intervening in Redcar and Cleveland AT ALL?
For me this is similar to when the council were found to have acted unlawfully in the High Court in December 07 and apart from an inch long snippet on the front page of the Gazette, you had to go all the way to the back to find another two small columns that told the massive news?
For me the Gazette not running this story in any way at all yet, five days after the story broke on Radio Tees and approximately ten days after senior employees of the Gazette were invited to the House of Commons for the screening, is akin to the time when despite having a reporter there in the magistrates court in March 07, listening to Alan Logan stating that there wasn't going to be a visitor centre and there wasn't going to be an extreme sports centre and that the beach was going to be restricted use if the development went ahead, the Gazette didn't print a word, preferring to print the councils tired, lame and downright untrue line about all the leisure facilities that this scheme was going to bring.
It would appear now that over a period of five years, the Gazette have nailed their colours well and truly to the councils mast. Perhaps if we had a press officer who had worked for them for twenty years and we gave them lots of money in advertising, then we wouldn't have as much difficulty in getting such massive stories printed, on time and on a page in keeping with the magnitude of the story?
Sadly though, we don't. We can only hope that they are wanting to run the story nearer the time? But you would think as the most read local newspaper in this area, that they would have wanted to have been the first wouldn't you?
// posted by Chris McGlade @ 11:40 AM 
