I have written about the importance of the local press for democracy before on this site. Here in Brent we have the Brent and Kilburn Times, owned by the Archant group and the Wembley and Willesden Observer, owned by Trinity Mirror. In some parts of the north of the borough the Harrow Times also circulates.
The number of reporters on the Brent ands Kilburn Times has reduced from the paper's heyday and readers will have noticed that the number of pages has also been reduced. It is sold in newsagents but also distributed free at some supermarkets, estate agents and elsewhere. It does not always contain a letters page which is often a good indicator of a newspaper's engagement with readers.
The Wembley and Willesden Observer is rather different as it is a local edition of the Harrow Observer series and despite having a great local reporter in Hannah Bewley is usually dominated by news about Harrow. A reader has to double check on stories beginning 'The Council...' to see which Council is involved - more often than not it is Harrow.
The paper's door-to-door distribution in Brent is very patchy and its price of 90p where sold is unpopular with readers when they discover it contains very few Brent stories.
Trinity Mirror has gone through a difficult period and earlier this month told West Londoin staff that the Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle, Westminster Chronicle and Kensington and Chelsea Chronicle were to close.
Trinity also announced that their titles in Uxbridge, Hounslow and Ealing are to switch from door-to-door to 'pick-up' only. The Harrow Observer will remain distributed door-to-door but as I mentioned earlier this does not cover the whole borough of Brent. The newspaper's office is being moved to Watford.
Trinity are going through the process of making staff including reporters, photographers and sales staff redundant and the outcome for the WWO is awaited with some trepidation.
Clearly this is a gloomy picture, not only for the staff concerned, but for the health of local democracy and the important role local newspapers play in holding local councils to account.
Laura Davison, national organiser of the NUJ said about Trinity's closure announcement:
The number of reporters on the Brent ands Kilburn Times has reduced from the paper's heyday and readers will have noticed that the number of pages has also been reduced. It is sold in newsagents but also distributed free at some supermarkets, estate agents and elsewhere. It does not always contain a letters page which is often a good indicator of a newspaper's engagement with readers.
The Wembley and Willesden Observer is rather different as it is a local edition of the Harrow Observer series and despite having a great local reporter in Hannah Bewley is usually dominated by news about Harrow. A reader has to double check on stories beginning 'The Council...' to see which Council is involved - more often than not it is Harrow.
The paper's door-to-door distribution in Brent is very patchy and its price of 90p where sold is unpopular with readers when they discover it contains very few Brent stories.
Trinity Mirror has gone through a difficult period and earlier this month told West Londoin staff that the Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle, Westminster Chronicle and Kensington and Chelsea Chronicle were to close.
Trinity also announced that their titles in Uxbridge, Hounslow and Ealing are to switch from door-to-door to 'pick-up' only. The Harrow Observer will remain distributed door-to-door but as I mentioned earlier this does not cover the whole borough of Brent. The newspaper's office is being moved to Watford.
Trinity are going through the process of making staff including reporters, photographers and sales staff redundant and the outcome for the WWO is awaited with some trepidation.
Clearly this is a gloomy picture, not only for the staff concerned, but for the health of local democracy and the important role local newspapers play in holding local councils to account.
Laura Davison, national organiser of the NUJ said about Trinity's closure announcement:
This announcement has come as a terrible shock to the hardworking staff of these titles.The speed of it means there is little time to look at meaningful alternatives to closure.Trinity Mirror should not simply be able to shut down these titles and lock them away after years of starving them of resources.It will leave some communities with no local paper, depriving them of a way to access information and hold local power to account. Readers and the Trinity Mirror journalists who serve them, deserve better.Martin Shipton, chair of the Trinity Group chapel (NUJ branch), said:
These closures would leave many communities in the outer London area without a local paper, as well as Fulham, a significant and densely populated part of the capital. There is a compelling need for journalistic scrutiny of the budget of local authorities which cover the circulation of these papers. Instead of shutting them down, Trinity Mirror should be investing in quality journalism, for which the public undoubtedly retains an appetite.I agree.
Letter to the Brent and Kilburn Times:
ReplyDelete"The Brent and Kilburn Times has done an excellent job in covering the controversies surrounding the original planning application for Kensal Rise Library. On 10 September you reported Cllr Roxanne Mashari on the issue of alleged fake emails supporting the application: 'If the allegations are true, manipulation of the planning system will not be tolerated' (Investigation launched into Kensal Rise Library fraud claims by campaigners and developer, 10 September 2013).
Planning officers later confirmed that some 70 of 78 comments supporting Andrew Gillick's first application were 'fake'. Despite reporting the matter directly to the council, Kirsty Slattery, whose address was misused, heard nothing until February this year when her case was raised with officers once again [when] She was told that 'the information you have raised will be [my itals] passed to the police for their attention' - five months after she first reported the theft of her address (Businesswoman's details used to back Kensal Rise Library development while she was on holiday, 18 September)!
Someone submitted these fake comments in which real addresses were used with false names to support the developer's change-of-use scheme. If that isn't fraud, what is it? According to council leader Muhammed Butt, the matter is now in the hands of the Met's C|D - Cllr Butt had earlier demanded that the police reconsider taking action after they had initially refused to do so.
The developer's revised scheme is now the hands of the planning department. Should its hearing by the planning committee be suspended until after the CID has reported? To date, Brent's acting chief executive, Christine Gilbert, has said only that 'the Council has a responsibility and obligation to consider any valid planning application that is put forward from any individual(s). It must consider each on its merits in accordance with its statutory obligations'.
The well-regarded Wembley Matters blog recently hosted a discussion of the question: 'What do Brent councillors think about deferral of the Kensal Rise planning application (http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/what-do-brent-councillors-think-about.html)?
Elected representatives have to date made no public comment".
Letter published under the headline 'Libraries: Revised scheme must be halted':
"The Brent and Kilburn Times has done an excellent job in covering the controversies surrounding the original planning application for Kensal Rise Library. On 10 September you reported Cllr Roxanne Mashari on the issue of alleged fake emails supporting the application: 'If the allegations are true, manipulation of the planning system will not be tolerated' (Investigation launched into Kensal Rise Library fraud claims by campaigners and developer, 10 September 2013).
Planning officers later confirmed that some 70 of 78 comments supporting Andrew Gillick's first application were 'fake'. Someone submitted these fake comments in which real addresses were used with false names to support the developer's change-of-use scheme. If that isn't fraud, what is it?
The developer's revised scheme is now the hands of the planning department. Should its hearing by the planning committee be suspended until after the CID has reported?"
The local press, important in holding local authorities to democratic account, should avoid aping the practice of its tabloid sisters and resist printing inflammatory headlines. It might otherwise find its readership declining even further.
Sadly Councillors do not seem to listen to printed material.
ReplyDeletePerhaps if we vote out the current lot we might end up with people who actually might listen.
The paper is aimed at a general audience. The readership's interest in any story is not boundless. Not everyone is as interested in the ins and outs of this story as you are. If you don't want a letter to be eviscerated by editing, the answer is surely to either (i) make clear that you want it published unedited or not at all, or (ii) produce it in such a form that it doesn't require editing. It's probably better to communicate 20% of your message to 5000 people than to convey 100% of it to 3. And you can always provide your own headline. Editors, like anyone else, are quite happy to have their lives made easier.
ReplyDeleteGlad you agree the letter was 'eviscerated', but whether it needed editing is another matter. My principal concern was, however, the misleading headline. Fair point - I could have asked that the letter wasn't shortened but as a regular contributor to BKT's sister paper, the Islington Gazette, I've never had to make that request. Lesson learnt, so thanks.
DeleteAs for the substantive issue - this is a live one and, in my view, very much in the public interest. I was hoping that by publishing, BKT would enable continuation of the excellent debate begun in Wembley Matters, encouraging responses from elected members.
I'm a great supporter of the local press - not everyone uses social media and a letters' page is an excellent way of promoting local democratic debate.
Footnote: since the letter was written, Brent police have confirmed that they periodically update the liaising council officer but can't advise members of the public on the current status of their inquiry - they will, however, publicise any charges arising from their investigation. Of immediate public concern, therefore, is how a Labour Party candidate at the forthcoming local election appears to have been advised of some aspects of the investigation, in marked contrast to those who provided the council with information relating to the fraudulent emails.
The reporters at the Brent and Kilburn Times come and go and their ability does vary – although I have seen some go from poor, when they first start, to become reasonable journalists by the time they leave. Both local papers have now gone "digital first" meaning they are now more focused on their online product than the physical print edition so "page count" becomes less important in those circumstances. I have noticed a marked decline in the quality at the Brent and Kilburn Times in the past six months. It seems riddled with factual and grammatical errors and I wonder if this is down to the reporters having to deal with a pool of sub editors working in some remote place far from Brent who have little knowledge or interest in what they are producing. They wouldn't be unique in this – the newspaper sector, while driving further towards online-only products, is yet to work out how to monetise its digital offerings. The entire industry is in a fluctuating crisis which is resulting in cost cutting, short term decision-making, redundancies, and a poorer product overall – with its knock-on effects on local democracy.
ReplyDeleteAll true (and very informative). But, as someone who works in Brent but lives elsewhere, I find the B&KT has a creditable investigative element to it compared with some local papers I'm familiar with whose function seems to be to blandly support the local status quo. My own contacts with the paper have been met with a real interest in pursuing a story, often in a way which would likely bring the reporter into potential conflict with the sort of people who could provide them with an easier, more comfortable existence if they sucked up to them. Credit where it's due, please.
DeleteMy original post was about the impact of owner cutbacks on the number of titles and staffing of local newspapers which in turn impacts on their capacity to hold local councils to account. The BKT has had some fantastic courage of local campaigns including the library closures, the Central Middlesex A&E issue, Harlesden Incinerator etc and with a news editor who actually lives in the area and in touch with the community, has been independent of any council pressures. Several of its reporters have moved on to the prestigious Ham and High but editorial staff numbed have been reduced. With more limited space the WWO reporter has also tried to cover local issues although not all the stories make the printed edition.
DeleteClearly there are economic pressures here but as the NUJ have argued there were at Trinity South huge salary differences between upper management and reporters and photographers
Hear hear.
DeleteBloody iPad autocorrection on my comment above. Should be 'fantastic coverage' (not courage) and staff numbers (not 'numbed'). Could have been that extra glass of wine I suppose...
DeleteThe writing is on the wall for both these local rags.
ReplyDeleteNewspapers are all in the same business- making money and when this doesnt happen one thing happens...
they close down
Sad to see that there's no letters' page at all in this week's BKT.
ReplyDeleteNEWS RELEASE
ReplyDeleteEMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 26 JUNE 2014
CHARITY DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY AS LONELINESS AMONG BRENT'S OLDER PEOPLE REACHES 50-YEAR HIGH
Contact the Elderly has declared a state-of-emergency as the number of socially isolated older people in Brent reaches breaking point.
Spurred by concern over the speed at which the government is tackling the problem of a million neglected older people in the UK who are off the radar, and the rate at which these numbers are growing, the charity is taking the issue into its own hands as it heads into its 50th year.
Supported by a network of volunteers across England, Scotland and Wales, Contact the Elderly offers a vital lifeline of friendship to those aged 75 and over, who live alone. The charity’s monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties in BRENT enable older people to receive much-needed human contact.
Now the charity is calling for more volunteers to get involved to host a tea party in their home once a year or to drive older guests to and from the parties once a month.
A new study conducted by independent research agency Qa Research reveals that almost one in five (19%) of the older people Contact the Elderly supports joined the charity because they rarely saw another person.
With almost 50 years’ experience, Contact the Elderly knows that the solution to loneliness can be as simple as a regular face-to-face chat over a cup of tea. Some 78 per cent of the older people surveyed feel less lonely as a result of the monthly tea parties. A total of 96% said the tea parties give them something to look forward to.
Local group coordinator Elaine Smith from Wembley says, “We offer a vital lifeline of friendship to some of the loneliest people in Brent. By its nature, social isolation often means that the loneliest people are the hardest to reach. By spreading the word we can encourage more local people to give up just two hours a month as a driver, or a few hours a year as a host.”
With the survey identifying key loneliness triggers as marital bereavement (22%) and lack of mobility (51%); 80 per cent of guests said they felt happier after joining one of the charity’s groups.
Contact the Elderly Founder and Chairman, Trevor Lyttleton MBE, says “Loneliness amongst older people has reached a state of emergency and must not be ignored. For almost 50 years we have been focussing on providing a cost-effective solution, yet the demand for our service has never been so high.
“We know our formula of tea and conversation works, but we simply cannot reach out to the people that desperately need our help without increased volunteers and funding.”
If you want to volunteer for Contact the Elderly or join as a guest, please Contact the Elderly’s North London Development Officer , Isabelle Wise, She can be reached on 020 8445 1333.
#POWEROFCONTACT
To support the appeal, text POWR15 and the donation amount to 70070
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