Reading this week's local press, reminds me why a few weeks ago I requested details concerning Thanet district councils expenditure on advertising.
Local newspapers seem reluctant, to comment on the issues that affect local people, take a glance through the Isle Of Thanet Gazette, which typifies what I mean, a couple of issues which are key to Margate and Thanet's town centre viability are pretty much ignored or buried.
Our town centres are struggling to survive which is clearly evident by the increasing number of vacant shops and businesses found in our towns, a situation which is being made worse by extortionate charges for parking, and if that was not bad enough the leader of the Thanet council Sandy Ezekiel has once again been exhibiting remarkable behaviour.
I just wonder what prevents, local newspapers campaigning on behalf of readers who I'm sure, must be sickened by the complacent attitude of Sandy Ezekiel's Tory Administration particularly with their negative attitude to our high streets. Equally irritating the Gazette's burying details of an apparent confrontation with Iris Johnson and Thanet's two top Tories over a petition, which for some reason was referred to in their Smudger column rather than the frontpage.
I just wonder if advertising revenue, has any influence on what our media report on. Although Thanet is just a minnow in the public authority spending league they do spend 200,000 a year which is not a completely insignificant amount of money. No doubt TDC, advertise on a competitive basis, but human nature is such, that you may go a little easy on an organization that has such spending power.
Fortunately Bignews Margate, does not rely on largesse from anyone, so will continue to give an independent, sometimes painful examination of local events.
Anyway as a bonus I leave you with this thought, if Sandy Ezekiel is the best of Thanet Tories, what the hell are the rest like. Incidentally Eastcliff Richard, has a poll on His website asking the question "Is our Sandy fit to be the leader of the Thanet council?" This sort of thing our local newspapers should be doing.
Local newspapers seem reluctant, to comment on the issues that affect local people, take a glance through the Isle Of Thanet Gazette, which typifies what I mean, a couple of issues which are key to Margate and Thanet's town centre viability are pretty much ignored or buried.
Our town centres are struggling to survive which is clearly evident by the increasing number of vacant shops and businesses found in our towns, a situation which is being made worse by extortionate charges for parking, and if that was not bad enough the leader of the Thanet council Sandy Ezekiel has once again been exhibiting remarkable behaviour.
I just wonder what prevents, local newspapers campaigning on behalf of readers who I'm sure, must be sickened by the complacent attitude of Sandy Ezekiel's Tory Administration particularly with their negative attitude to our high streets. Equally irritating the Gazette's burying details of an apparent confrontation with Iris Johnson and Thanet's two top Tories over a petition, which for some reason was referred to in their Smudger column rather than the frontpage.
I just wonder if advertising revenue, has any influence on what our media report on. Although Thanet is just a minnow in the public authority spending league they do spend 200,000 a year which is not a completely insignificant amount of money. No doubt TDC, advertise on a competitive basis, but human nature is such, that you may go a little easy on an organization that has such spending power.
Fortunately Bignews Margate, does not rely on largesse from anyone, so will continue to give an independent, sometimes painful examination of local events.
Anyway as a bonus I leave you with this thought, if Sandy Ezekiel is the best of Thanet Tories, what the hell are the rest like. Incidentally Eastcliff Richard, has a poll on His website asking the question "Is our Sandy fit to be the leader of the Thanet council?" This sort of thing our local newspapers should be doing.
What is lacking is investigative journalism. I sometimes (mostly) feel that I'm reading a quick mash-up of regurgitated facts and quotes, which are mostly available via blogs immedietly. Once they've gone to print then it is literally 'old news'.
ReplyDeleteThe press should be prodding around more and rubbing some people up the wrong way in order to write newsworthy articles, but most sit on the safe side. Who can blame them though when it seems that as soon as anything controversial is written (usually on blogs) then it is branded as libelous and the threat of legal action comes into play when most are ignorant of the actual legal process and just hope to scare away bad news.
Back in the 1970s Panorama broadcast a programme about poor care standards in the private care home industry.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Mortlock, Leadbeater Homes, sued and the BBC settled out of court.
The letters page of the Iot Gazette gave full rein to the issues.
A few years later Yorkshire TV made two(I think) pooor care standard "Grannie business" documentaries about the care home industry in Thanet.
I would guess that the local paper can be a rich source for bringing in the big boys. And its letters page also a rich source for the big boys to research.
This really led to the changes of care monitoring in the UK. An example of local press beginning a beneficial ball rolling.
Unfortunately the Thanet DHSS unilateral operation of paying care homes under entitlement was never brought to issue. An example of how Thanet public sector back stabs the area. The area's care homes were probably no worse than anywhere else but they were having to operate whilst being underpaid .... just because Thanet civil servants were like that.
It seems to me that the IoT Gazette changed for the worse in the late 70s. People in or associated with the League of Saint George seemed to thereafter have easy access to publish letters in my opinion.
The local police chief got his own column to tell us that police are no longer a service but a force of social control. (Churchill warned us about Labour making the police a Gestapo but who was doing it in Thanet ?) Even his signature resembled an SS logo !
IRA supportive League of Saint George and oddly with a UDA man dead ringer for Gerry Adams and here in Thanet surely not ?
And people wonder why the Army Cadet Force had a reporting procedure to help avoid any association with pseudo cadet forces in the county (which they referred to jokingly as Hitler Youth)
Where did IoT Gazette political sympathy really lay ? And were there/are there League of saint george fellow travellers in the local tories ? We all saw how sensitive a former IoT Gazette journo could get about a "Nazi" soubriquet.
Perhaps Adem that in Thanet a good starting point for an investigative journalist might have been the local paper.
The press in Thanet is terrible and bias. I agree, investigative journalism is something the Thanet Gazette doesn't have. Mind you, have you seen how old the journalists are, they have no experience and do not understand the fundemental local issues.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more Tony. The Gazunder appears especially supine these days, although they improved this week by mentioning me in Thom Morris's excellent Best of the Blogs!
ReplyDeleteBTW, FYI Sandy was deemed unfit by my readers by a whopping majority of 87% to 12%.
The decay of our town centres is increasingly seen by the public as a result of Tdc's policies. Local press should also reflect the local disatisfaction, and report a balanced view rather than being motivated by advertisement revenue.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of interest in the local press may have something to do with the papers being bought by well know Tory rag group the Mail Group from well know Labour rag group, the Mirror group.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.localrags.co.uk/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4155
The IOTG will not upset the Council leaders, or the Thanet mafia for fear of losing their advertising revenue.
ReplyDeleteStrange to think that the altercation between the Council top twins and Iris was witnessed by supposed journalists!!
I hear that these same journalists were then contacted by the great one to make sure that accurate reporting took place!!!
Ask Thom!!
I find amusing that the Gazette has a Best of the Blogs every week by Thom Morris which mentions contentious issues that the paper itself is too milky to report.
ReplyDeleteI actually find the some of the local papers rather attacking towards the adminstration of TDC and Kent County council.
ReplyDeleteThe Gazette and Thanet Times may be owned by the Daily Mail but their reporting is nowhere near as fair and reflective of society as The Mail is. They are always making fun of our conservative leaders and talking down Thanet, which doesn't help things.
We need our papers to be behind all the positive things that decent people around here are trying to do for poorer people.
This site appeals to me as a possible alternative to the established press. Crowdsourcing funds to pay for investigative journalism into the stories that people really find interesting.
ReplyDelete