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GREENWICH: ‘Sinister trend’ of council newspapers

11:51am Wednesday 20th January 2010 in News By Mark Chandler and Kelly Smale

Greenwich Council's Greenwich Time newspaper was criticised in a parliamentary debate Greenwich Council's Greenwich Time newspaper was criticised in a parliamentary debate

Greenwich Council’s newspaper Greenwich Time is under intense scrutiny after a parliamentary debate called for government intervention against the ‘sinister trend’ of council publications masquerading as legitimate newspapers.

NEWSPAPERS produced by councils should be investigated by the government, MPs say.

During a debate at Westminster Hall last Wednesday, MPs called for restrictions on the type of publications councils can produce.

Paul Burstow, the Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam who led the debate, said: “They are spending large amounts of public money to employ press officers to produce what amounts to little more than propaganda.”

Mr Burstow criticised the Greenwich Council-run Greenwich Time newspaper.

He said: “It mimics the format and content of a local paper. Its cost is £708,000 a year, of which at least £532,000 is borne by local taxpayers.

“Before it goes to print, every page is checked and approved by the council leader.

“The council claims it is not trying to put the local independent paper out of business but it has adopted the practice of holding back stories for exclusives for its own paper.”

David Evennett, Conservative MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, said independent local newspapers are vital to democracy.

Responding to the debate, a council spokesman said: “Greenwich Council has a duty to provide residents with details of how they can access the services we provide and opportunities we provide.

“Greenwich Time is one of the ways we do this.

“It also provides a cost-effective way of advertising council homes on a weekly basis as Greenwich Time is the only paper which is both produced in the borough and delivered to all households in the borough.”

Click here for full comments and reaction to Greenwich Time and council newspapers

Comments(14)

madras says...
1:40pm Wed 20 Jan 10

sinister? I think not. Cynical - yes

waste of money, self-publicising cr@p which many councils seem to feel obliged to drop through our letterboxes telling us what great work they are doing and/or promoting events that could better be promoted elsewhere

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OutwardlyInward says...
10:32pm Wed 20 Jan 10

I agree with the above poster.

I think the only sinister thing about this story is the fact the News Shopper are not being honest about why they are running this story.

If you were honest you would admit this is about the fact you want councils to spend their advertising money in your paper - not save taxpayers money by putting their ads in their own paper.

I don't trust everything I read in Greenwich Time - but nor do I believe everything in the Shopper. If I did I wouldnt leave my house for fear of being a victim of crime!

But at least Greenwich Time are based in Greenwich and they are the only paper to cover the whole borough.

And unlike your inaccurate report states they do print columns and letters attacking the council - I should know they've printed a few I've sent in!

So please at least be honest. This is all about your income - not about democracy. To suggest anything else is simply mischief making.

And lets not forget they are printed by a local newspaper group who will make lots of money out of the contract.

if you hate the idea of council newspapers so much I take it the News Shopper didnt try and win the contract in protest? Please do tell...

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Simon Bull says...
4:35pm Thu 21 Jan 10

In the interests of fairness OutwardlyInward we would be very interested to know what these attacks of yours were that you've had published in Greenwich Time. Looking through the GT letters pages it all looks very meek. If you have examples of where the ruling Labour party has been criticised in that paper then we would be like to see them.
Of course being a genuine local newspaper News Shopper is run as a proper business and therefore we have the same commercial pressures as any other business.
This does not change the facts, however, that GT is a politically-run propaganda sheet masquerading as a 'proper' local newspaper, produced at huge cost.
News Shopper focuses on fair, accurate and unbiased reporting - the same cannot be said for Greenwich Time.
I'm not sure if you are suggesting we shouldn't cover crime stories or that we cover too many, but if you are aware of other non-crime related issues which you think we should be covering, please get in touch.
News Shopper does provide news for every part of the Greenwich borough, which is accessible to everyone, either by receiving the printed newspaper through their door each week or by visiting our website to read news online and browse through the e-editions.

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OutwardlyInward says...
9:31pm Thu 21 Jan 10

Simon - thanks for your eaply. So why were your vested financial interests not mentioned in your story. I'm afraid withholding the real reason for your attack makes your paper look very dishonest.

And please answer my final question - did the shopper bid for the Greenwich Time print contract, currently held by another newspaper group? Seeing as you hate Greenwich Time so much and do not think it should be printed - I take it you did or are you just being hypocritical now having failed to win the contract?

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ooblyboob says...
10:06pm Thu 21 Jan 10

I agree with the other posters that this article was transparently self-serving and gets zero points for subtlety. But then again I can understand some of the frustration. GT must be the most boring read under the sun because the articles it carries are happy-clappy pro-council rubbish. There is nothing of interest in there at all. But I don't see why News Shopper is getting its knickers in such a twist about it. My default reaction to receiving a copy of GT these days is to pick it up and throw it in the recycling bin, cursing yet another waste of my council tax bill. Surely advertisers must realise that no-one reads the damned thing too. However, the fact that I am writing on this website now shows that I do still occasionally read News Shopper. So perhaps News Shopper should concentrate a little less on bashing their opposition and more on bringing me genuinely exclusive news about what has been happening in my local area. If that happens, I hope to carry on reading for many years to come.

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Simon Bull says...
3:02pm Fri 22 Jan 10

OutwardlyInward - I actually didn't have a clue about your question but I have checked with Andrew Parkes, group editor for Newsquest South & West London, who tells me that to the best of his knowledge News Shopper / Newsquest has at no point put in a bid for the printing or delivery of Greenwich Time. I hope this allays your theory.

As for your other comments, I really don't think anything is being withheld and I don't think anyone here is being dishonest. It must be perfectly clear to you and everyone else that News Shopper is run as a business and as such is going to be mindful of changing advertising revenue or increased numbers of publications operating in the same area. Nothing is being hidden in that respect.

Would we like Greenwich Council to spend all its advertising money with News Shopper? Well yes, of course, but then in an ideal world we'd like everyone to do that.

Money is of course going to be a factor for the newspaper industry when looking at the effects of council-run propaganda sheets but newspapers do not make a habit of 'attacking', as you put it, every organisation which chooses to advertise elsewhere. There is much more at stake than just newspapers' incomes when it comes to council-run/funded publications such as Greenwich Time.

You stated before how councils save taxpayers' money by putting their ads in their own paper. Given the huge costs of Greenwich Time, how exactly is money being saved?

As I also asked before, if you have any real examples of where Greenwich Time has provided anything like a balanced debate on local issues I would love to see them.

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Simon Bull says...
3:05pm Fri 22 Jan 10

ooblyboob - great screen name by the way, and thanks very much for your comments - much appreciated.

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Paulinejones says...
6:39pm Fri 22 Jan 10

I have read the above comments with interest. The main point is of course that the Greenwich Council paper is not produced in a true commercial and competitive environment, as a local newspaper. The true cost to the ratepayer is far more than stated as the council staff time and therefore wages are not taken into account in the figures quoted. It is unfair competition being produced internally plus it gives what can only be seen as a positive spin and distorted view of the Council's performance. This is true of so many services the council are now providing which use to be outsourced. Personally I think the council staff should stick to running a council before playing at being a publishing company or any other service that should be outsourced.
Give it another 10 years and we will all be civil servants all doing jobs that we use to do but being paid for by the government. Once we are all working for the government and no business tax and corporation tax is being generated where is all the revenue to run the councils going to come from?

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OutwardlyInward says...
7:50pm Fri 22 Jan 10

Simon thanks for your reply. The fact you do always respond is one thing I can't fault your paper on.

However please lets not pretend here. Your newspaper group makes money out of printing the very "propaganda sheets" you claim to despise. I'm checking your assertion about Greenwich Time with the council, but your group does print council newspapers in the UK.

But what really sticks in my throat is the fact that an unelected, American owned newspaper group like yours, with a base in Kent thinks you are more accountable than our elected council here in Greenwich.

If I don't like Greenwich Council's actions - including Greenwich Time - I can vote them out.

Compare that with the fact I don't know the views of your owners. I can't change your owners
if I didn't agree with theirs actions.
Nor did I elect them. Yet your groups still puts your unsolicited unaccountable paper through my door. That for me is the main difference.

I don't need these unelected faceless people with their hidden financial agendas dictating to me that my council is wasting my money - without providing any hard figures to back up your claims.

Nor do I need them preaching to me about principles - especially when your group recently took money from the BNP to advertise on your site, something that I'm sure offended far more people that Greenwich Time ever does.

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Simon Bull says...
11:07pm Fri 22 Jan 10

Just popped online after getting bored during the Jonathan Ross show. I'm glad I did because I wouldn't want to let OutwardlyInward's last comment to go unchecked.

When exactly is the BNP supposed to have advertised on News Shopper's website? Are far as I am aware that party has most definitely not been advertising here.

As for your views on News Shopper OutwardlyInward, if you don't want the "unelected, American owned newspaper group" delivering the "unsolicited unaccountable paper" through your door every week then you have the freedom to stop delivery. Nobody forces you to receive it, or read it.

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Paulinejones says...
11:19pm Fri 22 Jan 10

I think both of you are missing the point. It's not about what the Newshopper is delivering, it's the Council newspaper. Any commercial company producing their own publication is only going to send out positive messages. The question is "is it a good use of ratepayers money?" And the answer is an unequivocal "no".

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OutwardlyInward says...
11:23pm Fri 22 Jan 10

Hi Simon

Strange you didn't know about the BNP ads.

Here's one post from the Green candidate you quoted in this story about your Group taking BNP ads on websites

http://tiny.cc/Us60H


And here's another post on that subject with an image of one of the ads on one of your group's websites

http://tiny.cc/c3gfH


Shocking...

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Simon Bull says...
11:35pm Fri 22 Jan 10

Thanks for the links OutwardlyInward, but I was already well aware of the BNP advertising online elsewhere within the large nationwide Newsquest group. Rightly or wrongly one or two divisions within the company chose to accept the advertising.

However, your original point was that the BNP had advertisied on "your site" presumably meaning News Shopper. My response to you was that the BNP has not advertised on News Shopper or other Newsquest sites in this area.

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Let's Agree To Differ says...
6:54pm Sat 23 Jan 10

And I hope it never does!

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