Ah, training courses. You haven't lived until you've witnessed Crawley News content editor Glenn Ebrey role-playing an IT worker called Patricia whilst being mock-appraised by Advertiser sports editor Hassan Hadi.
Sadly I need to return to the real world now, and it's either going to be a really good or really bad news week in Croydon.
By which I mean there are a lot of stories floating around, but too many of them are doing just that - floating.
Until we've got them fully pinned down with pictures and interviews there's always the danger they are going to fall through, leaving you with a string of blank pages to fill. Fingers crossed.
Elsewhere, and I notice Croydon Council leader Mike Fisher is writing about the press in his sort-of blog here.
I say 'sort-of' blog as there's no facility to leave comments, and until you've had the joyful experience of opening up your inbox on a daily basis to find a string of abusive emails you're not really blogging at all. Or maybe that's just me.
The only point I want to respond to from Mike's entry is his surprise that I am happy to describe my job as reporting the news in the manner that will sell the most copies.
I've never had any qualms about saying that, and I'm pretty confident every other newspaper across the country does exactly the same thing.
(With the possible exception of The Independent, which reports in the news in a manner designed to appeal to media degree students and accordingly sells about 17 copies a day.)
Oh, I lied - one more point.
We - and other local papers - are also mildly chastised for not covering the local schools awards, to which I can only say that if you want us to come along it's important to remember to invite us as this was the first I - or the newsdesk - had heard of it.
5 comments:
All ills are clearly your fault.
Perhaps Mr Press officer in the council forgot to put a date and time on the blog too...
No RSS feed either. Very lazy.
Do you think Mr Fisher wrote all of it himself? parts seem to be a little bit press officer.
Think how much the council spends on its IT - probably more than the whole Advertiser empire. Perhaps you should issue another Freedom of Information Request!
A real blog encourages a strange two way relationship. Puts the user in control through the RSS feed and enables one to feel connected.
It also makes you seem a bit more human. Not something that the Fisher thing could possibly do.
anonymous - You don't need to go to the council to find out how much they are spending on IT - it's already out in the open.
Mike Fishers has no idea what blogging actually is. Next will we find him on Facebook or Myspace diggin it with his supporters. "God help us if he did"
Read about the IT news story here:
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/04/23/230395/croydon-council-extends-capgemini-it-contract.htm
Isn't yours a "sort-of blog", too, Mr Carter, in a Stalinistic sort of way, in which any comments that disagree with you, or point out the failings of your newspaper, are never published?
By the way, was the previous "Anonymous" commenter, critical of Fisher's blog, actually you, Carter?
Not really Stalinistic. I had one regular anonymous contributor who seemed to have certain 'issues,' and I got bored of reading his contributions. Reasoned debate and criticism welcome as always.
Eliminating all opposition simply because you got bored? No, not Stalinistic at all...
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