A Common Column?

Those who take a keen interest in local politics will have noticed that Mr. Howard has not penned a column in the local rags since July 27 and is probably enjoying a well earned break. Or perhaps attending Entrée Gold board meetings in Vancouver. Or maybe visiting Entrée’s site in Mongolia. Or possibly on a cruise courtesy of Saga. Or attending meetings for Helphire (continue yourselves. look at http://www.parliament.uk/about_commons/register_of_members__interests.cfm).

Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Conservative Party, Mr. Damian Collins, has taken up the mantle and given us his thoughts on Dungeness power station, a national day of remembrance and how to save the economy. While it is reasonable to assume that the elected representative should have a regular space to inform constituents of his or her thoughts and actions, the idea of giving the space to a PPC from only one party seems distinctly unfair.

This matter is raising some eyebrows. Neil Matthews, PPC for the Lib Dems, tells me I am not the only person to notice this and that he will approach the papers about a column for himself. PPC for the Labour Party, Mr. Donald Worsley, has not answered my request for his thoughts on this issue.

A column for each candidate seems excessive (last election there were 9 PPCs, including Lord Toby Jug), but surely if the incumbent is away then it seems the column should either be windmilled between those who are vying for the seat or the space given over to local letters?

Although Mr. Collins has had a fair amount of column inches in both papers over recent weeks (more on this soon) letters and stories from almost all parties are carried regularly so there is no case for bias. The possibility of an oversight is more likely than something more cynical. Even if there were allegations of bias, so what? Restrictions on broadcasters do not seem to apply to papers, and the nationals are well known for political leanings.

"In non-broadcast media, political advertising, in both the party political sense and the wider sense, is allowed but the ads must comply with the CAP Code" (in essence no lies, etc) http://www.asa.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2006/Its+political+but+is+it+correct.htm

It will be interesting to see if Mr. Howard returns, or if other PPCs start to contribute.

Update August 27 - the KM now have a Neil Matthews column. Perhaps this will galvanise Donald Worsley into action. The Herald still have only Damian Collins...maybe next week?

Read All About It (again) !!!

Won't somebody please think of the children! Last week's front page of the Herald was the shocking news that Poundland is selling adult DVDs. Disgusted pensioner Mrs. Barbara Plumley will never shop there again.

This may seem depressingly familiar to regular readers as yet further evidence of the general moral degradation of the nation, but it is probably more familiar as it is near identical to a story carried around St. Valentine's Day where a Mrs. Barbara Plumley railed against Poundland for stocking saucy underwear. I'm fairly sure the front page picture used at St. Valentine's Day story is the same picture used this week.

There is no accusation of law breaking, and we are reassured that all staff are trained to ask for I.D. From the accompanying picture it doesn't appear that any flesh is inappropriately displayed (on the shelf or by Mrs. Plumley), although there are 'titles too filthy to print in a family newspaper'. Good to see that the Herald is protecting kids and is definitely NOT stoking anyone's interest by running the front page story under the prominent headline 'Pornland'.

Incidental - I'm typing this at midnight, and either Folkestone is turning into down-town Kabul or someone is letting off fireworks. Either way I'm sure the neighbours are pleased.

Setting the Record Straight

Looking at the latest set of posts, it’s all gone a bit anti-Herald. For the sake of presenting ‘the other side’ here is a potted attempt at where I think the Herald is at and the good it can do.

It’s no secret that regional media and the printed press are going through a very hard time. Some commentators have called the situation a ‘perfect storm’, where consumers are not buying as many papers due to free alternatives, affecting advertising revenues which are falling as companies reel from the effects of the ‘global economic catastrophe’ http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/081121jobscrisis.shtml.

With less money efficiency savings are required so offices are shut down. The KM office in Folkestone and both Dover Mercury and Dover Express offices have closed. Staff lose their jobs, leaving fewer reporters under more pressure to fill space.

More mistakes filter through as people do not have time or valuable local knowledge to correct errors. ‘Churnalists’ are forced into rehashing press releases to provide vast amounts of copy to fill pages rather than spending hours investigating stories but not producing anything for the website or the paper.

So what are the good points for the Herald? Firstly there are some good stories. Council meetings are reported, where our tax goes can be enlightening, and FOI requests are an important part of holding public institutions to account and providing information that people do not have the time, knowledge or contacts to find for themselves. For a local master-class in FOI usage read Paul Francis’ stuff in the KM papers.

Secondly, there are good community news pieces, publicising events and charitable causes. The recent reports from Nepal (which reporter Sara Shaffi paid for herself and took leave while sending back pages of copy, http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/news/090803chrisnepal.shtml) is just one example of news stories that are interesting and illuminating, giving readers a better idea of people who make up the local community. Issues such as broken sewage pipes, rat infestations and the ever-present anti-social behaviour are covered giving people a chance to voice their frustrations and occasionally spark action from the community or other parties.

Thirdly, the Folkestone office remains open, giving local people a physical point of contact to visit and pass on leads and stories. Although comments in the Martello column can be pretty disparaging and arrogant towards those supplying the Herald with leads, the continued presence in the town is a definite plus and a real advantage over the rival Express and an important part of ‘making local matter more’.

Lastly, there is a vibrant letters page, where recurring issues and differing viewpoints are debated, thanks are given and occasionally ‘poetry’ is printed. In my opinion, the letters are often the most entertaining part of the whole paper and should be expanded.

I hope this post has given some balance to the blog. This post in no way means that I support all of the ‘stories’ that make it into the Herald, nor do I think it is the paragon of unbiased informative reporting. It has a less than exemplary history behind it. While the editor during the examples below has since moved on (and is now an emmigrant (http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/news/2007/08aug/070821hud.shtml), perhaps some readers will feel that not much has changed…

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/warning-to-editors-on-racist-reports-1191857.html
https://www.irr.org.uk/cgi-bin/news/open.pl?id=1436
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-barbarous-coast-1191578.html

Herald-bashing to resume shortly!

School Leavers Jobs Crisis Averted!

With thousands of school leavers unable to get into either University or work, I thought of the perfect solution today - create more rubbish jobs based in Universities, only to find I had been beaten to it! I bet the leavers who dissed home-economics or the A-level in cross-stitching are kicking themselves.

Sh*t (story) Ahoy!

Silly season japes continue. The interesting case of the Arctic Sea, possibly Europe's first example of piracy since goatees, breeches and warring with the French were in fashion has been given a local angle.

The initial story on August 12 was about Dover coastguard missing a pirated ship sailing past, although even if they had known I wonder what they would have done in an orange inflatable dinghy, apart from provide target practice. Claiming Dover Coastguard was joining the search is perhaps over-egging the reality.

At least the ol' plank walking championship on Sheppey got some free publicity:

Then on the 18 we are treated to the news that off Western Africa arrests have been made.

These are the arrests of 8 non-crew of Russian, Latvian and Estonian nationality. A mildly interesting case, but local news? Maybe a News in Brief (NIB), but a half page with pictures? All stories from http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/.

Where have all the Subs Gone?

I should say I'm not a newsman, journalist or anything of that ilk. I take a keen interest, but that is all. I take enough interest to know that times in local media are hard and editorial across the country have borne the brunt of some savage cuts. In this, sub editors have often been done away with (usually grammar checkers, but also with good local knowledge to pick up errors). Needless to say, errors are creeping in. From http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/southkent


Dover harbour is also looking more like Folkestone harbour by the minute!

Disclaimer - there was a spelling error in this blog until my own 'sub-editor' (girlfriend) pointed it out! I like to think it reinforces arguments for sub retention in the press!

Mystic Blog

Here is the first blog prediction – that tomorrow, Thursday 19, the Herald and possibly the Express will carry a story about Michael Howard MP potentially striking it rich as the mining company he sits on the board for has announced finding one of the largest discovered gold and copper deposits in history.

How can I make this prediction? Because the story appeared in the Times on August 16, (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6797841.ece) and I don’t think the hard-pressed hacks at the local rags will pass up the chance to cut and paste another story (see comments on expenses stories below). Of course I am being unfair, and all news outlets surely lift others' stories. Not all papers found the 'funny squirrel in a holiday snap' story independently, but how many credited a source?

So is there a real story here? Well, no, not really. MPs are allowed to sit on boards and have remunerated positions. If Mr. Howard gains a windfall, it will come after he has left parliament, and there is no evidence of any foul play or any hint of him having acted outside of the rules (remember, it’s the rules that were wrong!). From the Entree Annual Information Form for the year ending December 31, 2008, Mr. Howard has 57,000 shares ($1.50 and presumably rising) and 760,000 stock options.

The real interest, if the hacks bother to dig, is finding what Mr. Howard has already earned. As noted in this blog already, the details of remunerated and other interests have always been 'freely' available in the Register of Members' of Interests, and Mr. Howard has consistently held several. The Amteus 2007 Annual Report (http://www.northcote.co.uk/company_links/by_sector.asp?SIT=1&SID=32&SDL=NI03744) shows that as an Amteus Plc board member Mr. Howard sat on the Remuneration and Audit Committees and received salaries and fees of £18K (paid in shares) and 250,000 shares from JC Morris (founder and main shareholder).

Amteus appears to have changed its name to imJack, yet although there seem to be documents ready for perusal, I cannot open any of the .pdf files on this http://www.imjack.com/investor_relations.html page. Mr. Howard does not now list Amteus in his entry in the Register of Members' Interests.

The real story, as noted before, is why was he claiming expenses for gardening when he has remunerated directorships, racehorses, speaking engagements and paid for cruises (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/memi02.htm)? Will this appear in the articles in the local press? Second prediction – no.

Really must publish now as it's almost 12 and the papers are out tomorrow (morning)!

Silly Season Strikes

The Herald’s ‘Fur flies over council jolly’ on August 6 represented the best reporting seen in the paper since someone cut and pasted whatever the Telegraph had printed about Michael Howard’s expenses.

It made a welcome change from the previous month’s front pages, which were between bizarre to banal. The first inklings that either news was drying up or hacks and editors were getting lazy was a headline story about 3 girls prosecuted for shoplifting, complete with pics looking suspiciously as if they had been lifted from Facebook. I wouldn’t want to condone any crime, but to splash 18 year old girls who have been caught doing something supremely idiotic across the front page seemed a little OTT.

One of the girls was the daughter of the head of Brockhill School, who had claimed to be cracking down on bad behaviour. The Press Code article 9(i) states: Relatives or friends of persons convicted or accused of crime should not generally be identified without their consent, unless they are genuinely relevant to the story.

Unfortunately I didn’t get round to asking the editor if there is a genuine link between a head teacher insisting on discipline and a teenager being an idiot (even if they are related - the girls are 18), though looking through the cases on the PCC a ruling against the Herald seems unlikely. Stories of burglaries, fights, and drunkenness didn’t make the front page. Oddly the story cannot be found on the http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/ site, but an (alternative) opinion piece is here http://www.my-kent.com/index.php/Kent-News/heads-daughter-in-shoplifting-gang.html.

Following this, on July 23 a mother of a disabled child blasted the ‘piggish’ council for not providing a lift in her home for her disabled son, It was only in the last couple of paragraphs (tucked on the inside of page 3) that the council outlined the lengths it had gone to; “Patio doors have been installed and doors have been widened…The family have been offered a number of other properties which are already adapted…We’ve done everything we can an gone beyond the call of duty because of the relationship we have built up with the family”.

I am definitely not one to give the council undue credit, but here are concrete examples of the good the council has tried to do, rather than the usual evasive and woolly answers that appear. Still, I suppose ‘Ungrateful mum blasts council’ is a difficult headline to carry.

Topping these examples was a July 30 master class in how to make a non-story front page news. Hilarious punning headline ‘Cops don’t give a hoot about me’ kicked off the story of Brian Maxted, a kindly 72 year-old who runs the Folkestone Owl Sanctuary. Brian returned from a brief holiday to find his laptop, £50 cash and stationery missing and was upset that a month after the event a CSI had not visited.

Again, anyone who managed to read the story to the end (turning over to the foot of page 3) would have noted the police response effectively killed off the story. There were no potential leads as “the owner allows many people into his property and has given them all keys”. Neither Brian or the police mentioned a forced entry, leading to the possibility that the nicest take on Brian’s laptop going missing would have been ‘Trusting man victim of theft’. At least that’s nicer than ‘Idiot gives out keys to home’.

I suppose the problem is what can papers do when news is thin on the ground? There are no big meetings or decisions to lead with. There are some summer events, but when one of your reporters is off in Nepal on ‘holiday’ (http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/news/090803chrisnepal.shtml) I guess news is harder to find.

The Kentish Express appears to lead with human interest type stuff, which is not to be confused with hard news but at least avoids the need to manufacture front page splashes out of total non-starters. Of course all press outlets are in competition with one another, and what better to drive sales than to scream about Pig Flu, Global warming and, err… trusting geriatrics? There may be pertinent issues contained within the stories, but the total lack of any decent investigation in to the issues leaves the locals with shallow sensationalist dross.