Back in August, I reported on how the Thanet Times and had taken the trouble to air brush parts of the female anatomy in a photo which accompanied their report on naked fundraisers riding a roller coaster for charity, obviously the editor assumes readers of the Thanet Times are delicate souls who eschew 21st century morality.
I was surprised that Thanet councils procedure or management, resulting in exclusion of the public (see earlier mention), from a public meeting, went almost unreported apart from a jokey item in the Gazette's "Smudger" section (last Friday), which even had a seemingly sycophantic, comment, concurring that the lone security guard was right to lock doors to the council offices. Still that's a value judgement I suppose but I just wonder whether local hacks and editors temper their reporting so as not to offend council officers.
Anyhow it just seems a pity, a local newspaper wouldn't consider the public being excluded from the democratic process, newsworthy in a straight sort of way, rather than buried in its gossip column.
In fairness Gazette journo Plain Jane was astonished about some letter last week, sent from the council demanding a penny from a local resident and some coverage had been given, well I'm mildly despairing of the media, not reporting on local democracy, I post about such matters, which, most likely makes me a bit of crank, still you read it, and I think some crackpot in Ramsgate. Thanks!
The Gazette is a strange newspaper which seems to have totally lost sight of economic realities or even its purpose in life.
ReplyDeleteLike the BBC it has developed something of a left wing bias, mistakenly believing such to be the modern trend of journalism. You put a slant on news rather than simply reporting the facts.
It regularly gives minute coverage to things of public interest whilst devoting pages to some local persons complaint which, deeper investigation would expose as groundless.
The letters pages are frequently dominated by the whingers, the anti-Tory, anti-Gale rhetoric of a well known Westgate resident and the rantings of Labour councillors.
Whatever the editorial staff may feel about the merits of their almost Guardianista approach to journalism, what about the number crunchers. Both North and South Thanet, the main circulation area of the paper, have large Conservative majorities but this buying public are totally ignored. Instead the Gazette panders to the minority. Not really very clever marketing.
So the Tories only want to see material that panders to their viewpoint - how open-minded and enlightened. Surely, if they are that put out, they will not buy the paper and it will fold.
ReplyDeleteAs for left-wing bias, please...
It is mainly the lack of decent news coverage that offends. They are much happier recounting some resident's story, as they did a while back over the Malaysian government medal, where the old chap interviewed had clearly confused memories with what he had read. His names and incidents did not match the time he was in Malaya.
ReplyDeleteThat is the Gazette's idea of a story with no proper journalistic research and it happens frequently.
By the same token they will ignore or make but brief reference to some matter that impacts on life in Thanet.