Tag: Local media

Media relationship broken? Here’s how to fix it

mad formal executive man yelling at camera

I’ve had several conversations recently about the difficult relationships organisations have with the media and the frustration this causes.

Problems cited will be familiar to most who work in a local authority press office or deal with the same journalists regularly. 

Placing a negative slant on every story about your employer, being at loggerheads over a controversial issue or having your full and detailed briefing relegated to footnote status on a negative story are just some things to cause tension.

Occasionally, this gets bad enough for press offices to ‘blank’ journalists. It happened to me when I was a reporter. 

It can be a source of despair, and I’ve heard it stated that [name of paper/editor] just won’t listen to what we have to say about [controversial project]. 

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‘Town hall pravdas’ or keeping people informed?

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.

Waging war on council newsletters in London

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 rates 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.

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More councils pick web battles with media

mad formal executive man yelling at camera

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about why local councils should resist the temptation to use their websites to pick a fight with the local media.

Since then, a council started using its website to respond to negative local coverage. I thought this was a rare (and wrong) tactic at the time, and still do.

Yesterday I found another quirky example, that’s equally risky to the council’s reputation. In the media section was a page devoted to rebuttals, entitled ‘Not Guilty’, with the following explanatory text:

“[The] Council often finds itself the victim of poor or inaccurate reporting, leaving residents badly informed. The Not Guilty page will address those inaccuracies and provide you with the facts.”

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Why you shouldn’t get publicly mad with local media

mad formal executive man yelling at camera
Bad news: it doesn’t have to be made worse

Whilst researching something, I came across a post on a council website that I rarely see.

In the news section was a headline that read something like: ‘What you didn’t read this week in the [local newspaper]’.

It was linked to two items, venting frustration at treatment of the council by the local media.

One post complained a response to a story was not used in full (despite being sent in before deadline). Another stated that a letter from an employee in response to an article had not been published.

I can understand – and have experienced as a journalist – the frustration councils feel when the media criticises them. And there is definitely a role for using your website to engage people, particularly in a crisis.

But there is rarely cause for airing your frustration with a local paper to all who visit your website. Here are three reasons why.

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