Fighting against secrecy

We need whistle-blowers to draw attention to official failures and wrongdoing, now more than ever.
For while more information is available than ever before, there is also a record number of people paid to ensure that only the right messages about their government or private organisations reach the public.
Until recently our main sources of reliable information were newspapers, radio, television and magazines. Now we also have millions of websites on the internet, including the newspapers’ own websites, which are proving remarkably popular and increasing their reach far beyond what is possible with print alone.
The problem with the internet is that the volume of information it holds grows vast beyond comprehension while the number of sites which are reliable for unbiased accuracy remains correspondingly small.
So we rely on the media to trawl the oceans of information for what is accurate and relevant to us.
This the media works hard to do,
obstructed by the policy of major organisations who ban employees from speaking to journalists. An example is Royal Mail, which does not want anyone speaking off message when they are closing post
offices.
These large organisations hire press or communications officers to pump up positive stories and play down or hide the negative.
So we increasingly need whistle-blowers with the courage to reveal truths which are hidden from the public but they should know about.
Philip Welch

Support the Tour of Britain

On its website the Tour of Britain boasts of being the country’s biggest professional cycling race and Britain’s biggest live sporting event.
This year’s race was bigger again, and preparations have started for the 2009 edition which will run for eight days in September.
Somerset County Council wants the race to go through Wells, Glastonbury and Street because it would bring business here and coverage in the national media.
This seems a wise and timely initiative, as interest in competitive cycling has grown sharply following the remarkable success of the British team during the Olympic Games in China this summer.
Thousands of spectators are expected to watch the 96 cyclists, and would spend money here. We can also be sure of heightened interest from the television companies, whose broadcasts would feature background images of the Somerset countryside.
Cycling also should be encouraged because it is effective in countering obesity and reducing carbon emissions.
Bearing all this in mind, the attitude in some of our councils is short-sighted and disappointing. The councils in Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet were asked if they would pay the £5,000 which the Tour of Britain organisers require to route the races through any town.
Shepton Mallet and Wells took only a few minutes to say no, while Glastonbury has yet to decide but several councillors showed a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
Of course, money remains tight, and the racers would cycle quickly through our patch. But £5,000 is not a king’s ransom, while Somerset’s tourism industry and other businesses will need all the help they can get as the recession bites in 2009.
Philip Welch

Goodbye to the old image

A trilby hat with a press card in the brim and a grubby mac (the coat, not the Apple computer) with a notebook in one pocket and half a bottle of Scotch in the other.
That was the cartoon image of journalists when I joined the profession in 1969. Nothing could be further from reality now, but there was an element of truth then.
Twenty years ago, when I was deputy editor of the Bath Evening Chronicle, a posh lady phoned to say: “There is an elderly gentleman here who says he is a reporter for the Chronicle, but that cannot be true as he is obviously drunk.”
In fact he was one of the breed of reporters who went from pub to pub gathering stories before returning to the office to bash them onto an elderly typewriter.
The doctor warned him to stop drinking so much beer and whisky, so he switched to dry Martini in half-pint glasses, and has been dead for many years.
Today’s average regional newspaper reporter drinks little and favours fruit juice, Diet Coke or water at lunchtime.
The main reason for the change is the increased workload, as papers have grown bigger and we have added websites and video to improve our service to readers.The time of long lunch hours in the pub has long since gone.
Today’s Mid Somerset News & Media’s journalists are all committed, hard-working members of their communities.Remarkably respectable too, but I think that was always true for most of our editorial staff.
It is the grubby end of the national tabloids that lets down the reputation of British journalists.
Philip Welch

The way to an editor's heart

Selecting the right staff is a critical part of an editor’s role. In a small office everyone must be committed and able to work as part of a team.
Nowadays the process is rigorous, requiring hours of careful appraisal and comparison. But it was not always thus.
Back in 1977 I went for an interview at a weekly paper in London as chief sub-editor. The deputy editor asked me to design a couple of pages, which met with his approval.
Next I had to pick that week’s front page lead from a list of 30 stories. My choice was a positive and heart-warming piece about a lady called Justine.
But the two crucial tests came at noon when the editor took me to the pub.
First: “What do you want to drink?” I chose draught Guinness, which proved to be the boss’s tipple and the right answer.
Second: It gradually became apparent he wanted to know if I could drink large quantities on an empty stomach and remain sober.
All went well until I accidentally knocked over the editor’s third pint. That’s torn it, I thought.
But my offer to buy the next round was accepted gracefully and after four pints we were the best of friends.
A few days later a contract for the job arrived in the post, with a generous starting salary and a copy of the paper.
The front page lead headline read “Justine’s joy”. I was quite pleased too.
Next time I will tell you how things have changed and why.
Philip Welch