Andy Carter’s Blog

This is a copy of my weekly blog which I write for work and is published on the council's intranet.  The views I express in this log are my own, professional, views as the Head of Communications but do not necessarily reflect those of the authority itself.

Firstly this week – a ‘shout out’ to my new found councillor friends on the central and corporate scrutiny board, which I had to go and speak in front of yesterday.

I was ‘appearing’ to give an update on where we are with the plain English campaign we’re running.  You know, I’ve talked about it before in my Log.

The councillors were pleased with the progress we’ve made and very supportive of what we’re doing, which is fantastic.  They were particularly impressed that 400 odd members of staff are now on the list to join the workshops.

I’ve invited every single member of the board to join in too and within a few minutes of the meeting finishing, one had already put their name down.

Yet again, Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Dave Marsh was in the room to listen to the discussions.  I used the opportunity to publically thank him for the article he ran last year about our plain English aspirations.

He tells me he’s going to run something new about how we’re getting on.

Thanks also to you – there was only one person in the public seating area of the committee room and no rotten fruit was thrown which made the whole ‘going before the committee’ experience so much better.

Next – we’re being asked for help by a student from Leeds Met University.

Last year I did a guest lecture at the Rose Bowl to students from the uni’s PR and business school and since then we’d had loads of requests for us to assist with dissertations and various studies that they are doing.

One of the students is Jenny Singh.  Here’s what she’s sent me:

I am currently studying Public Relations in my final year at Leeds Metropolitan University. As part of my final year I am required to complete a dissertation, which includes conducting research. The link below will direct you to an online survey, this survey is designed for the purpose of my dissertation only and I would really appreciate it if you, and your colleagues, would take a few minutes to complete it. The survey is completely anonymous and all information collated will remain confidential.  The survey is here:

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=tt7qfuprxx1865i699778

If you were able to find time to help her out, I know she would be very grateful.

Finally, I’m handing over the Log for a ‘guest editor’ to finish off this week.  Mark Travis my colleague who is in charge of the About Leeds newspaper, so it’s fitting that he’s here to talk about a new report from the Audit Commission which finds that council publications aren’t killing off the local newspaper industry after all.

There was quite a hoo-ha in the press last week about council newspapers.

Yes, again.  But, please, don’t stop reading. There’s a twist.

To recap, paid-for newspapers hate council publications, like our very own About Leeds.

So when the government’s Lord Carter called in the Audit Commission to review the town hall freesheets, Her Majesty’s hacks started sharpening their knives.

What they got left ‘em livid.

The Audit Commission not only likes council newspapers, it encourages them.  The commission finds council newspapers ‘important to inform the public of services … and explain policies and priorities’.  And, according to the government body, the money being spent ‘is not unreasonable’, while ‘few publications are published sufficiently to be viable media for most local advertising’.

Looking at their  findings and recommendations, About Leeds seemingly comes out of this pretty well.  For frequency, we are pretty common as 38 per cent publish four times per year.  About Leeds is also among the 26 per cent that does not feature councillors in any form.

In fact, out of the 120 councils the Audit Commission reviewed, only one council newspaper was overseen by a cross-party editorial board. Presumably, About Leeds.

One Audit Commission criticism did, however, centre on claims about value for money being ‘not well supported generally’.

I think we can contest this.  In 2009, About Leeds went under the public microscope for both the readers and residents surveys, which quizzed around 2,700 Leeds residents in total.

In response to the Audit Commission’s findings, the press and the industry’s commentators were apoplectic.

Again, they cried foul over taxpayer cost saying councils should instead plough money into their newspapers’ advertising to plug their plummeting income.

That’s a pretty unique mix of free market policy matched with a healthy dose of protectionism.

In general, it doesn’t really wash.

About Leeds isn’t perfect. But it isn’t Pravda either.

If it was, it wouldn’t be dubbed the best newspaper in the north, as it is currently.

Who says so? Commercial newspaper editors, who made up a panel of judges at the last Communicators in Business North Awards.

And who finished runners-up to About Leeds? A pretty major newspaper publishing company’s staff newspaper, produced by journos for journos.

Gotcha!

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