Forum Topic

Council newspaper

I got back from work yesterday to find a 44-page newspaper from LBHF on the doormat.  I know that we've been getting these for some time, but I'm surprised to see that it's now going to come every fortnight.I was particularly amused by the 'Your shout' page which consisted of three articles and two of the authors had double-barelled names.  I'm not sure that the musings of of Digby Poshboy-Rich (or whatever his name is) will be particularly interesting or relevant to people living in high-rise estates....So, the Council recently trumpeted the reduction in Council Tax which will give each household about 50p (or the cost of a Mars bar) per week.  Given their commitment to reduce Council Tax, why spend money on producing and delivering paper which will go straight into many orange recycling sacks ?Why don't the Council concentrate on 'regular' Council business like emptying the bins and their much-publicised commitment to reducing waste in Local Government instead of branching into newspaper publishing ?Maybe there's a councillor out there who can enlighten me ?

Andrew Broadbent ● 6197d84 Comments

Interesting post script to this in the Guardian today. Apparently the Chronicle has censored a comment by Andy Slaughter MP in a column he writes in which he was critical of their relationship with the Council. This is leading him and others to suggest that the paper is now a propaganda tool of the Council. Even if it is probably better that it is one that the shareholders of Trinity Mirror are paying for than the Council Tax payers of H&F.

Paul Corcoran ● 5072d

H&F's attempts to resurrect Pravda as an 'independent' newspaper have failed seemingly because that would have breached Government rules. They are now going to try 'to secure the most economical rate possible for future council advertising' which given that they have more or less knocked most of the credible competition out of the market should be interesting. The Chronicle is the only borough media now (with the possible exception of this group of web sites) and they now have a bigger distribution having gone free delivery so unless they can tempt someone else to set up a newspaper in the current economic climate they are left with Hobson's Choice. I'm sure the Chronicle will screw them for every penny - which given that they will have lost hundreds of thousands as a result of the Council's ill-conceived venture into media - would seem justified.

Karen Cooper ● 5284d

An interesting development. If you see sometime back there was an exchange between myself and Stephen Cowan who I think is the leader of the Labour group in H&F. He said that if elected they would sell off the paper, a policy the Tories seem to have now adopted. The points I made at the time remain the same - if the paper exists only because of subsidy then who in their right mind would want to buy it?

Andy Jones ● 5323d

That's great news but on a pedantic note I think you meant "about time TOO!"

Charles Lawrence ● 5324d

About time to!http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46065&c=1

Karen Cooper ● 5324d

Does anybody know when the next edition of H&F News is due to be published?

Ellen Kearney ● 5325d

I don't think H&F News should carry ads for any religious group.

Karen Cooper ● 5360d

"Is any one aware of other connections between the local Tory party and Scientology?"No, LBHF's mob are more into voodoo, I'd have thought.  Their economics certainly are.

Tom Barry ● 5364d

Agreed. Scientology is a bit of scam but not to the point of being illegal. It may seem fine to to exclude them but where do you draw the line? The dangerous practice of suppressing people's beliefs usually starts with the outlandish ones but then gradually shifts to the mainstream.

Andy Jones ● 5365d

Don't see the problem. They are wacky but not an illegal organisation so why shouldn't the Council take their money?

Ellen Kearney ● 5366d

The latest edition of the Council's propaganda newspaper has an advertisement for the Scientology cult. Whether or not this dodgy organisation should be given any space in any newspaper is an open question but how can it be justifiable that it appears in an official subsidised publication which local residents are funding? Is any one aware of other connections between the local Tory party and Scientology?

Karen Cooper ● 5367d

The tide appears to be turning on this. Andy Slaughter raised it in parliament this week and got support against 'Town Hall Pravdas' from two Tory ministers. Eric Pickles and Grant Shapps. Coalition are considering measures to stop Councils like Hammersmith and Fulham doing this sort of thing.

Karen Cooper ● 5415d

The blue rosette was pushing it a bit far I thought!

Ellen Kearney ● 5431d

The Council did publish an edition of H&F News at the time of the election with some fairly unsubtle vote Tory messages included. I'm amazed this is allowed.

Karen Cooper ● 5435d

Stephen gave the wrong link. It should have been:http://thecowanreport.blogspot.com/2010/04/cross-party-parliamentary-committee_2063.html

Ellen Kearney ● 5493d

Stephen - I got a 'page not found' message when I tried to access this report.

Karen Cooper ● 5499d

The Culture Media and Sports Parliamentary Select Committee (which is chaired by a leading Conservative MP) has singled out H&F Council for producing taxpayer funded "political propaganda" in a report published today. You can read my report - with links to the official report - by cutting and pasting the link below:http://thecowanreport.blogspot.com/2010/04/cross-party-parliamentary-committee.htmlWith best wishesCllr. Stephen Cowan (Lab)Leader of the OppositionThe London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

Stephen Cowan ● 5500d

Photo op demo today on this issue outside Town Hall at 11am

Ellen Kearney ● 5500d

All good points. We have indeed looked at all options and, as you indicate, will have to go through due process to get rid of it and cut back the numbers of staff employed in the Council's PR, Advertising and newspaper publishing operation. All of that is possible and we will do that.I cannot go into detail here about what we've done so far for obvious reasons. But can assure you that we will quickly dispose of H&F News and will produce significant savings for the public purse in the process. I long worked in publishing and understand how it operates. It is possible to sell H&F News as either a going concern or as a title others can fold into their own publishing operation. We are currently looking at all the local government rules about sale and privatisation to ensure that it is dispensed with properly - at maximum benefit to tax payers.

Stephen Cowan ● 5546d

'That's why we will sell off H&F News'I thought one of the arguments against this paper was that it was loss making but accounting sleight of hand made it look as though it was making money. This seems likely to be true to me as it is simply not credible that a public sector enterprise with no economies of scale could operate on higher margins than a private sector operation which was part of a larger media group.Also when you sell the title what happens to the staff? Do they retain their public sector salary benefits? What about the Council advertising in the paper? Most of its revenue comes from that source. Are you going to guarantee to the purchaser that your administration would continue to place all Council advertising with them?Selling off the paper seems to be an ill-thought out policy. Have you gone as far as sounding out possible buyers as a to a likely price? If you did you would probably find that they would want to be paid to take over the paper rather than paying you to buy it.

Andy Jones ● 5547d

Absolutely. It is wrong on a scale only seen in Berlusconi's Italy. I firmly believe H&F Council is actively corrupting its communications budget to win favour with the majority group of Conservative councillors. The Council relies on the fact they they haven't yet been sued as being in breach of section 2 of the local government act and if they were to be they think they would most likely have more resources and motivation than any complainant to defend their activities.The internal appeals process within H&F Council for complaints about this lacks any form of independence and is completely open to interference from those that have a vested interest in blocking any complaint.I can't imagine that this would ever be acceptable to the public if any national government did this. It's also contrary to our tradition of a free press.That's why we will sell off H&F News and significantly cut back H&F Council's press team and advertising operation. We will spend the savings on lower charges to residents and more police.Cllr. Stephen Cowan (Lab)Leader of the OppositionThe London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

Stephen Cowan ● 5547d

They make the distinction, however, between Council and party. So it is said that h&f news is a Council paper, not a party paper. I don't like the banner ads and neither do the amenity societies, but that's another issue. Where it gets really blurred is that the Council - so far as h&f news is concerned - is the ruling party, and h&f news will only carry stories commendatory to the administration. In that sense it is highly party political - as enough people and the House of Commons Select Committee have amply demonstrated.

Rosemary Pettit ● 5547d

The banners that currently line King Street extolling the Council's achievements are branded H&F News so any pretence that the newspaper is apolitical seems to have been abandoned.

Andy Jones ● 5547d

Maybe not. They say it is a Council paper, not a party political paper. On the other hand, Cabinet members feature in the paper and the Cabinet is made up of councillors who are standing for re-election on 6 May. Perhaps an administration councillor could enlighten us on how this tricky situation will be handled?

Rosemary Pettit ● 5568d

Surely the Council will be barred from publishing this newspaper once the election is declared.

Karen Cooper ● 5569d

'So, here's an analogy - if the BBC didn't exist, you'd be happy for the Government of the day to set-up a nationwide broadcast & media organisation which only reported things in a way that showed the Government in the best possible light ?'Andrew, I'd primarily be unhappy because there was no BBC. If the choice was no media at all and a political biased one I'd probably have to go for the latter. Local papers have a utility function such as allowing local events to get publicised and giving a channel to the authorities to communicate important non-political information to residents. Of course it is outrageous that a Council is allowed to publish a paper with a party political bias using taxpayers' money, even more so with an election approaching but they are filling a vacuum. I don't see your local paper but I hear it is basically the same as the one we get in our area with a few H&F stories to localise it. People didn't buy it for that reason.

Andy Jones ● 5570d

Interesting twist on this story today. In response to Sly Bailey's attack on Council Newspapers various Council's have disclosed that the contracts to print their newspapers are in the hands of companies such as Archant and Trinity Mirror - the same ones complaining about Council newspapers.

Paul Corcoran ● 5570d

"A community needs a good local media and if the commercial sector isn't providing one then the Council probably has to do something."So, here's an analogy - if the BBC didn't exist, you'd be happy for the Government of the day to set-up a nationwide broadcast & media organisation which only reported things in a way that showed the Government in the best possible light ?I think that Councils should stick to doing what we elected them to do; we didn't elect them to create newspapers....

Andrew Broadbent ● 5575d

For those interested, please follow this link to read what we will do with H&F News, Council propaganda and advertising should we win the local elections in 2006:http://thecowanreport.blogspot.com/2010/01/labour-councillors-we-will-sell-h-news.html Best wishesCllr. Stephen CowanLabour Leader of the OppositionThe London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

Stephen Cowan ● 5575d

You only have to look at the way the Council newspaper has covered the issue of the Thames Tunnel to see how dangerous their ownership of the media can be. They have tried to stir up opposition to the project by scaremongering about the possible damage to local parks and constantly present only one side of the story. They then run surveys which claim to show overwhelming opposition to the project. If you ask people who have some knowledge of the issue they will usually be in favour.

Karen Cooper ● 5577d

'A free press is a prerequisite condition of a free society.'Is it really in the 21st century? With the advent of the internet and the decline in both the quality and reach of local media isn't it the case that old channels for the distribution of information have become less critical and new channels make it impossible for a party line to be the only version of events that people can read. "the new Chronicle is not 80% advertising, as you have no doubt observed"I haven't because I don't live in the borough. I make the observation because where I live the free newspapers are 80% advertising and the paid for one, The Ealing Gazette, is about 50% with much better content in the latter.'H&f news is a well produced paper, this does not negate criticism of its content and slant.'I wouldn't seek to defend its bias but would say there is value to the community in having a good paper even one that cannot be relied on to cover political issues objectively.'The journalists on the Chronicle - in my experience - check their stories and quotes and attend events.'Long may they continue to do so but I would fear that being free the most important thing for the publisher to do is distribute it effectively. Not having the discipline of needing to persuade readers to buy the paper may lead to a fall in the resources given to writing stories and a reduction in coverage of key local issues. It therefore be not quite the bastion of local liberty that some people might hope it would be.

Andy Jones ● 5578d

A free press is a prerequisite condition of a free society. Whoever controls the media, and H&F Council was very close to that control in this borough, also controls the agenda, what people see, hear and understand. There are still checks and balances, admittedly, but they become weaker. It is not a good direction to go in.To answer your other points, although not as fully as you have done: the new Chronicle is not 80% advertising, as you have no doubt observed. H&f news is a well produced paper, this does not negate criticism of its content and slant. The journalists on the Chronicle - in my experience - check their stories and quotes and attend events. Your third point is answered above and as follows: if h&f becomes the only local newspaper, and excludes all politicians except ones approved of by the administration, then it is biased and unfair straight off.

Rosemary Pettit ● 5578d

Partly in the spirit of being devil's advocate I'd make a few points on Council Newspapers.Firstly, the move to free distribution by the commericial sector is not necessarily great news. A free newspaper is generally 80% ads and there is much less pressure on the publisher to provide good content. The quality and quantity of stories in a free newspaper tends to decline. H&F News does not have similar commercial pressures and even my friends in the borough who are politically opposed to the Council, admit that it is a well produced newspaper. A community needs a good local media and if the commercial sector isn't providing one then the Council probably has to do something.Secondly, if the local paper is anything like the ones distributed and sold in my neck of the woods the people who write for them do not live and work in the area and often display astonishing ignorance of local geography. At the very least the people who write for H&F News will work in the area they are covering and therefore have a much better feel for it.Finally, the idea of newspapers being the last bastion of local democracy seems to me a pretty false one. The investigation and exposure of local Government corruption is the job of oppposition parties and although the local press has declined they have the internet now to publish information about those in power at the Town Hall. The problem for democracy at a local level does seem to me to be a declining press but an ineffective opposition.

Andy Jones ● 5579d

You see faces and stories that are banned from H&F News... and you realise just how damaging the H&F fiasco is to the democratic process. And they still refuse to acknowledge that the paper is thoroughly unhealthy for community, residents, democracy, debate and everything else the council are supposed to be guardians of...

Paul Fox ● 5579d

The Chronicle came through my letterbox today. How refreshing to see faces and stories that are banned from h&f news.

Rosemary Pettit ● 5581d

The matter was debated in parliament this week with local MP Andrew Slaughter being very vocal. You can see his problem - there's an election losing, it's a marginal seat, Lord Ashcroft is giving his opponent large campaign funds and the main press for the area is controlled by the Tories.

Ellen Kearney ● 5581d

'You may be interested to read the story on our front page about the select committee discussion on this topic, during which a local councillor claimed they are considering selling h&f news.'Selling as in privatising the operation or selling as in putting a cover price on it?

Paul Corcoran ● 5583d

The move (probably deliberately) does undermine the rationale for H&F News which was that nobody read local newspapers or web sites. Now the Council does have a means of communicating with a larger number of people in the borough without having to print a paper themselves.

Ellen Kearney ● 5583d

According to the Guardian today the Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle is to become a free newspaper. I find this a shame but I suppose that is the only way they can hope to compete with H&F News.

Karen Cooper ● 5589d

Of course the Council needs to communicate with residents - and nobody is denying that - but who is the Council? H&F news does not announce it is a Council newspaper (a point brought up by the Select Committee) and it features only stories and people approved of by the administration. If it was truly Council - rather than administration - it would, for example, show pictures of Labour councillors as well as Conservative ones. Come to that, as Cllr Loveday told the Select Committee (see video of the proceedings), only the Cabinet get their pics and stories in h&f news. Is this controlling?

Rosemary Pettit ● 5653d

All this H&F News bashing still doesn't deal with the issue of how the Council is supposed to communicate with local residents other than setting up their own newspaper.

Ellen Kearney ● 5653d

Excellent, Sheila, a fuller story than in the Guardian. At last h&f news looks as though it's being held to account. Apart from the crushing of local papers, and thus a plurality of views in the press, h&f news presents only the Council administration's point of view, and as such it's an abuse of power. Maybe the Select Committee can do what residents have failed to do.

Rosemary Pettit ● 5659d

Hi allYou may be interested to read the story on our front page about the select committee discussion on this topic, during which a local councillor claimed they are considering selling h&f news.

Sheila Prophet ● 5659d

The costs Rosemary, include ones that don't appear in spread sheets. They include not giving residents a full view of events in the borough and not allowing residents to be remotely critical of the Council.We all know how the far right and the far left have many characteristics in common....Anyone with an interest in a pluralist society should stand up against this insidious use of our resources.

Paul Fox ● 5660d

Earlier this month I read that the Newspaper Society(representing the regional press) has written to the Audit Commission and the Office of Fair Trading to ask for an investigation into how taxpayers' money is being spent on Council newspapers.H&F Council says h&f news is produced at no cost to the taxpayer. I would like to see an analysis of this, to include hidden, fixed costs.

Rosemary Pettit ● 5661d

The Commons Select Committee looking at the issue of Council Newspapers has delivered a stinging criticism of H&F News. A Tory MP has described it is unacceptable and a Liberal Democrat said that H&F was behaving like a communist Council.More details in the Guardianhttp://bit.ly/2xeBcP

Karen Cooper ● 5661d

Given the full scenario I think the ethics of this particular case are, at least, questionable.Our Council should not have taken payment for the advertisments - especially as they will be the authority charged with making a decision to either grant or deny permission to the developer who had earlier paid them for the ads. It is also only fair that the residents should have been able to get their letters printed - given they are concerned about that the development will blight their neighbourhood. I hope the Council applies itself to these predicaments and comes up with a better way in future.Here is a full report on the Goldhawk Industrial Estate planning case below. It touches on the Council newspaper aspect. I think you have to cut and paste to read it:http://thecowanreport.blogspot.com/2009/03/residents-tell-h-council-you-know-that.htmlBest wishesCllr. Stephen CowanLeader of the OppositionThe London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

Stephen Cowan ● 5848d

It's not so much that it's unethical (though it may be), it's just unfair. Residents start at a disadvantage with developments, anyway, because the Council planners and the developer engage in secret meetings a year or more before the developer is required to go public and 'consult' local residents, in this case very poorly. For the Council paper then to bar residents on the grounds that the application has been lodged, is to add insult to considerable injury.

Rosemary Pettit ● 5848d

Surely the acceptance by the Council of a payment of any kind from the developer is unethical.

Karen Cooper ● 5848d

Residents opposing the proposed redevelopment of the Goldhawk Industrial Estate have not been able to get a letter published in h&f news, even though it was signed by 60 people. The reason given by the editor was that the Council's legal advisors advised against publication on the grounds that it might otherwise compromise our case.Nevertheless, the developer was able to pay for an advertisement in h&f news, advertising his exhibition. More significantly, an article on the proposed redevelopment, based on the developer's publicity material, was published on 2 December in h&f news, six days before the application was verified by the planning department. The developer thus got his publicity just in time, while residents who had previously been kept in the dark about this proposed development were unable to make their case in h&f news, even though we subsidise the paper through taxation.It might be that the rules were adhered to, but where is the justice in this?

Rosemary Pettit ● 5882d

"It is important that residents are informed about what their local Council is doing."It is, as long as it's unbiased.  And in that respect you're as bad as your Labour predecessors.It's no more than a local version of Pravda whcih appears to arrive every 5 minutes and is (apparently) putting local independent newspapers out of business.

Andrew Broadbent ● 5889d

I'm very sceptical about the figures presented here. The implication is that the paper costs £210,000 per annum to write publish and distribute. That's simply not credible.

Ellen Kearney ● 5891d

For the facts on this, please see: http://hfconservatives.typepad.com/residents_first/2009/01/busting-urban-myths-2-council-communications.htmlWhich in summary says:H&F Council combines low spend with high quality communications:- Since 2006 we have reduced the number of communications staff from 13 to 7.- We have brought our newspaper, H&F News, in-house – which has led to a £300,000 saving.  Market testing print services has also saved a further £300,000.- We have been innovative, including launching our own YouTube TV channel, localised neighbourhood guides and lamp post banners produced at very low cost.  Indeed, our lamp post banners are self financing, as part of the year they are used for commercial use.- The number of residents who say H&F Council communicates well is up from 40% in 2006 to 54% in 2008 – one of the highest figures in London.It is important that residents are informed about what their local Council is doing.  The difference between the current Conservative Council and our Labour predecessors is that we are doing it better and cheaper.

Greg Smith ● 5891d

With ref to the discussion about Council tax - this is one example of an area that could see cuts to help reduce tax. I'm not disagreeing with Andrew on Meals on Wheels just saying that tax cuts are important and beneficial to people on low incomes.

Ellen Kearney ● 5893d

The TaxPayers' Alliance actually put H&F Council on a list of authorities it told to "Hang Their Heads in Shame" because of the jumps in public money spent on PR and advertising. Read about that here.http://thecowanreport.blogspot.com/2008/12/taxpayers-alliance-tells-h-council-to.html It also seems that much of H&F Council's PR is unlawful as it quite obviously supports the local Conservative Party agenda.Its PRAVDA style newspaper is actually designed to crowd out the local free press - replacing it with propaganda disguised as news. It's questionable whether any government (local or national) should be allowed to do this in a western democracy.Then, there's also the vast sums spend on advertising. This has included employing a poster van to drive around the borough, ad space taken out in tube stations, newspaper advertising, posters on lamp post and more.Much of what the public are told is plain rubbish bearing little relation to the facts - such as what occurred on the Thames Tideway Tunnel. See here: http://thecowanreport.blogspot.com/2008/11/h-councils-super-sewer-shenanigans-part_22.html The cost of much of this has been disguised through their accounting practices.It’s up to residents to decide whether they think any of this is good value for money or not. Personally, I think the millions of pounds H&F Council spends on PR and marketing would be better spent on policing, street cleaning and abolishing the new £12.40 hourly care charge for the elderly sick and disabled to name just a few alternatives.With best wishesCllr. Stephen CowanLeader of the OppositionThe London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

Stephen Cowan ● 5931d

Don't forget that we're talking about a part-taxpayer-funded "newspaper" which spins local news to show how well the incumbent party is doing.The fact that it is endangering private sector business and free enterprise seems to be lost on our Conservative Council.It's a bloody disgrace, IMHO.

Andrew Broadbent ● 5932d

Actually since I wrote my previous message there has been some good news on the local press front in that a local newspaper has started to reappear even if the distribution is a bit patchy. The Chiswick has been replaced by the Chiswick Times. It is very content lite but it is better than nothing.

Paul Corcoran ● 5933d

We seem to be going through the same process here with the consolidation in our local newspapers. According to the front page of the site the Government and the local MP are starting to get concerned about this issue. However, they aren't really offering any solutions. If the private sector can't provide a decent local news service and they want the public sector to keep out of it then the problem remains.

Ellen Kearney ● 5933d

Since this thread was initiated the local papers in the Chiswick area have closed down. We used to have the Brentford, Chiswick and Isleworth Times and a free weekly called the Chiswick which was published by the Newsquest group. It is hard not to see a connection with the newspaper's withdrawal from the market and the Council's expansion of their own magazine. The loss of revenue that resulted for the newspapers was obviously terminal.

Paul Corcoran ● 6019d

I think the danger of having the local press owned by the Council is shown by the current coverage of the issue of the so-called 'Super Sewer'. The article on the front page is extremely biased and fails to give both sides of the argument. Thames Water is described as 'furtive' and describing the project as a 'stink pipe' is designed to stir people up against it. Hopefully local people are wise to this kind of propaganda although there is little indication on H&F news that it is a Council publication.

Karen Cooper ● 6025d

Sorry Andy you hit a nerve with me.  They are wasting our money in order to lie to us about what a good job they are doing. Have you ever tried to complain about the Council to anyone? they are fireproof, even the Ombudsman defends them.

Maggie Dodge ● 6039d

Maggie, when I say 'funny' I'm laughing on the outside but crying on the inside. The point about Around Ealing or any other Council newspaper is that if it is telling you that your Council is a model of fiscal rectitude you can be pretty sure the financial accounts are in meltdown and if it is telling you about success in recycling you can be pretty sure that the streets are strewn with uncollected rubbish.

Andy Jones ● 6040d

Actually, its not really funny, in my opinion.  This has previously been discussed, again Ealing, when an article was published about keeping our streets clean, when there was a long running thread on the Acton website about the fact that Ealing's recycling teams leave behind them more mess than they take away.  As an Ealing Borough resident it makes me furious.  Either the people in charge have no idea what is going on, or possibly worse still they do and they don't care, as long as they get their salary.

Maggie Dodge ● 6040d

These council papers can be unintentionally funny. This month's Ealing magazine has the front page headline 'Looking After Every Penny'. During it the month in was revealed that the Council was paying £170,000 a month in benefits for a family to stay in a house in Acton and that they had lost £2 million by putting it into Icelandic banks. I wonder if the next edition will mention either of these two issues?

Andy Jones ● 6040d

It's not just Councils. I received an e-mail from a local newspaper recently which stated at the end that I shouldn't print it out to protect the environment. The e-mail I had sent them was about piles of discarded free newspapers and the litter problem they were causing!

Paul Corcoran ● 6053d

Antony, I don't live in H&F so in specific terms the matter isn't important to me. However, you are wrong to describe it as a free paper because it will be paid for out of your Council Tax. There is a broader issue here beyond use of tax payers money however. Ealing Council recently withdrew a lot of their advertising from the Ealing Gazette which is really the area's only proper newspaper. It now puts most of its advertising in the Ealing Times which is mainly a freesheet of which the distribution is very patchy and the news content is inferior to the Gazette's. They may have done this for cost reasons or they may have been unhappy with the Gazette's coverage of Council matters but the net effect is that there will be a further decline in the effectiveness of the borough's press as a watchdog over local government.

Andy Jones ● 6061d

everything must be pretty much ok in H&F if all the whingers can think of to moan about is a free paper.

antony obrien ● 6064d

Do as I say not as I do, very typical of most councils -unfortunately.

Maggie Dodge ● 6064d

I find it ironic that whenever you get an e-mail from people at local authorities it tends to have a note saying something to the effect of 'To protect the environment please do not print this out.' This while the Council is generating tons of unwanted, unnecessary paper waste.

Ellen Kearney ● 6065d

There does seem to be an increasing trend for local authorities to 'go into businesses'. It is perhaps a result of public sector pay and conditions now being better on average than the private sector so people with commercial experience are now more and more working for local authorities. There are obviously some advantages to this but it also provides some dangers. There was a move recently for Councils to be allowed to give out mortgages which would be a certain road to financial disaster. The Councils main job is, and always should be things like collecting the bins. That generally they don't do that particularly effectively is a guide to what they would be like running proper businesses.

Paul Corcoran ● 6089d

The surprising thing is to see a Tory Council expanding the role of the public sector into the commercial sphere. Are they planning to set up enterprises in other sectors where they think the private sector is deficient?

Karen Cooper ● 6095d

The questions also needs to be asked as to why we are getting all these Council freesheets at a time when local authorities are anxious to highlight their green credentials. I think part of the answer is assessed by how Council's are actually assessed for 'greenness'. The primary purpose of much of the legislation relating to this matter is to reduce landfill so Councils look to increase the proportion of the amount of waste they recycle. As paper waste is far more likely to be recycled issue more newspapers with more pages may increase the amount of waste generated overall but more importantly for the Council makes it easier for them to reach their targets. So perversely regulations designed to protect the environment are actually doing a great deal of damage.

Andy Jones ● 6102d

On one hand I can see why the Council might want to get into the newspaper business. Everywhere else I've ever lived the local newspaper has been a pretty good reflection of the area it covers but here in Hammersmith I soon gave up. The papers gave the impression that the locality was dipping into anarchy with most of the stories about crime. Lots of interesting stuff that I knew of locally that was going on never seemed to get covered.However, the Council newspaper also tends to go straight in the bin. It seems to be the same dull but worthy stories that pad out the local rag without the crime. It seems a seriously backward step of the Council, who are always lecturing us on being green are generating tons of extra junk coming through our letter boxes.I do like HammersmithToday.co.uk but it doesn't really have the resources to be a one stop shop for all local information. The ChiswickW4.com site seems to have a lot more people working on it but then again it makes a lot more money.Not sure what the answer is ultimately. A strong independent media is vital to the community. If the main media is Council owned what protection to we have against Council corruption and abuse of power. If the big media companies are willing to provide good quality local press then the solution could be something community based and locally owned but quite what I don't know.

Ellen Kearney ● 6104d

The point I'm trying to make is that the newspaper has plenty of articles written by and for people at the upper end of the income scale.  The Councillor suggested I was being divisive, which is not my intention.  I just think the paper should be more representative of the wide range of people within the Borough, something it currently isn't, IMHO.

Andrew Broadbent ● 6104d

Some of my near-neighbours would be offended by the 'sink estate' tag....do you have any in mind?

Richard Scott ● 6105d

Thanks for the response.  I'm impressed that the paper is being funded by advertising and not taxation.A couple of points, though :- which 'frontline services' have the £300k been ploughed back into ?  I'd be interested to know.- in response to my 'Digby Poshboy-Rich' comment, the point which I was trying to make was that the paper is really quite representative of the middle/chattering classes, IMHO.  Can you tell me where to find the articles written by inhabitants of the Borough's sink estates are in the newspaper ?  I can't find them.

Andrew Broadbent ● 6109d

As of the October 2007, the council has saved over £300,000 in total council spending on HFM/H&F News since 2005/6 to put back into frontline services.  This will be even more now and we have been congratulated by the taxpayers alliance for doing so.  Nevertheless, MORI opinion polling suggests that people in H&F want to feel more informed about the council is doing and what is going on in our borough in terms of events, training opportunities etc...  I hope this is what we are doing."I was particularly amused by the 'Your shout' page which consisted of three articles and two of the authors had double-barelled names.  I'm not sure that the musings of of Digby Poshboy-Rich (or whatever his name is) will be particularly interesting or relevant to people living in high-rise estates...."I think was a very unconstructive comment - everyone, wealthy or poor, black or white, male or female living in Hammersmith & Fulham should have one thing in common.  A desire to see the place we live improve.  Sterotypes like this just make a more divisive society.

Cllr Paul Bristow ● 6109d

Good for you - Ealing were one of the highest in the country with, if memory serves me correctly a spend of £5mn per annum.However, I remain sceptical that state run newspapers can operate more efficiently and profitably than the commercial sector. An organisation like Trinity Mirror has massive advantages including economies of scale and yet struggles to make a profit. I've never seen the H&F paper but the 'commercial' advertising in the Ealing one seems predominantly in-house or other public sector organisations. It is hard to avoid the conclusion there is a large degree of cross-subsidisation going on to hide the true cost of these publications.

Andy Jones ● 6110d

H&F News is funded by commercial advertising, not Council Tax pounds.Also, the Taxpayers' Alliance have congratulated H&F Council for being the only council in Britain to be spending less on Communications today compared to ten years ago.Cllr Greg Smith

Greg Smith ● 6110d

Ealing have done it slightly differently. They have increased output of their magazine but have also shifted the publication of notices to the Ealing Times as opposed to the much more widely read Ealing Gazette. The Times isn't sold in most newsagents in my area. The reason was some critical reporting by the Gazette (which had been critical of the previous Labour administration.) Some regulation of Councils on this matter is very much needed as they appear determine to stifle the independent press across West London.

Andy Jones ● 6110d

Exactly the same thing happened in Hounslow where the Conservatives were critical of the Council starting a magazine under Labour but when they gained power they rebranded it and kept it going.

Paul Corcoran ● 6165d

I thought that getting rid of the old HFM was one of the key promises of the conservatives?Do they think that residents are so stupid that we won't notice a change of name?

Katherine Marsh ● 6184d

and now I've just had a special letter through, telling me how they are campaigning for our post office.  I'd rather they just did it, rather than tell me about it with special mailings ...

Sarah Taylor ● 6188d

In the case of Ealing they announced in their paper that there was a huge improvement in the refuse collection/recycling in the borough.  Most of the locals find that amusing because there is a long running complaint about the service, which does not appear to be improving.  So if they are only going to print what they wish were true, rather than the facts, then its more than a waste of money, its an insult to our intelligence.

Maggie Dodge ● 6190d

Boris has scrapped the Londoner propaganda sheet so maybe this will set a precedent for other Conservative Councils. However, aren't the local papers owned by Trinity Mirror? They may be anxious to spend as little as possible with a group which has historically been a Labour supporter.

Andy Jones ● 6193d