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!