#ViewsOnComms: public relations, places and life in the South West
I was interested to read the renewed criticism of council newsletters this week, with Grant Shapps saying people should report authorities who they think are wasting public money on needless publications to the district auditor.
In PR Week (which has a firewall, so no point in providing a link), he is reported to have criticised Labour councils for continuing to publish weekly newsletters, despite Government guidelines which suggest a limit of four publications a year.
The excellent We Love Local Government blog has just posted ‘in defence of the Pravda’ (tabloid-speak for council newspapers). It actually started more like an attack, but read on and it highlights the fact that there are actually some good and some bad council newsletters. And the decent ones are valued by their residents.
I’ve blogged about this issue recently, making similar points. They key point that councils need to demonstrate is whether residents value the newsletters they produce. Much of the research I have seen in my previous job suggests that they do.
It’s worth sharing a post on the Big Society – from Andy Sawford at LGiU. There is much more to say on this, as demonstrated by some Twitter exchanges I’ve had tonight over councils’ ability to send newsletters to residents. One man’s localism is another man’s fish and chip wrapper, perhaps. Sorry you can’t see the picture below. Problems with WordPress tonight.
via LGiU – the local democracy blog
Amongst other blogs I have seen, Julian Dobson’s, Nat Wei’s and Matthew Taylor’s also caught the eye.
The recent decision by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee to reject Eric Pickles‘ proposals to restrict the publication of council newspapers has reopened a debate on the role such publications should play.
In one corner is the Government, which is strongly critical of councils spending public funds on ‘town hall pravdas’ that they see as little better than propaganda magazines. They are supported by regional and local newspaper publishers who cite them as a threat to their businesses because some charge advertising revenue and publish weekly editions, putting them in direct competition with their papers. Publications like H&F News and East End Life (both published by London authorities) are cited of evidence of this trend.
Continue reading “‘Town hall pravdas’ or keeping people informed?”
