Welcome to the weekly Wrap from How-Do - media news for the North West.
The Wrap's guest editor this week is Roger Borrell
As the editor of a magazine which has just stuck a choc bar (Green & Black’s almond – be warned, it may contain nuts) to the cover of its latest issue, I shouldn’t throw stones at other publications. But, hey, I’m a journalist – you try and stop me.
Weeklies, like the county magazines, have been driving forces in the regional print media in recent years. While the big city dailies have struggled (and I have the redundancy cheque to prove it), the very local press has, in most cases, gone like a train. At best, they have a strong sense of community, they’re red hot on issues and their reporters are often the only people keeping a gimlet eye on the Town Hall.
Why then, would the Chester Standard agree to wrap 120,000 copies of its organ with pages containing the local housing trust’s annual report? Well, yes, apart from the money. The trust boasts it ‘imitates a newspaper front page complete with bold graphics and headlines’ with a ‘vibrant design to match its positive news.’
At best, this is going to confuse the heck out of the readers. Some will think it’s the Chester Standard giving the housing trust a glowing report and the conspiracy theorists will accuse the paper of being in the trust’s pocket.
Remember, this organisation now runs 6,900 former council properties so it’s safe to assume it hasn’t been above reproach from some tenants, who will also be Chester Standard readers.
If the Chester housing trust wants to buy four pages of ad space on inside pages, that’s fine. But selling your front page devalues the brand. It says the most important part of the paper is not reserved for impartial local news – it’s available to the highest bidder. Won’t it will be interesting to see how the paper’s editorial pages cover the report?
This is the first time this has ever been done by a housing trust. I hope it’s the last – pass the chocolate.
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