Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey People
Came through my door this morning. How much does it cost to produce this glossy full-colour magazine and why are the council still publishing it while cutting day centres and other essential services? An paying someone to deliver it house to house.
If they must publish something, Hackney council produce a smaller newspaper-style one, presumably cheaper, which actually has a lot more local community information in it and not just council good news propaganda.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sarah_24 on
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Absolutely, by the time I usually receive my copy it tends to be out of date.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Plainly the cost of Haringey People Magazine won't be even a tiny fraction of the service cuts being inflicted. But every little does help. And, more important, it sets an example. It announces publicly to every household what the borough's "leadership" believes important. Spin and propaganda; or vital frontline services? Plainly it's the former which now call the shots in our Borough.
Shown even more by the appalling "Draft Corporate Plan" - headlined "Building a Stronger Haringey Together. Although given the scale of the cuts being proposed over the next three years, and its threadbare ideas, might as well be called "Building Stronger Pignests".
Our Dear Leader Cllr Claire Kober says almost nothing of any value at the best of times, but in this document she has truly outdone herself. Where it is not vague and vapid; it is absurd. Above all, it appears to me to be glossy Party propaganda dressed-up as a consultation and paid for with public money.
How much did it cost for 76 A4 pages - some in full colour? I've asked some Freedom of Information Act questions.
(My Political Declaration is on my Personal Page here.)
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Please don't concern yourself too much about how much Haringey Council spend on this being delivered, the council clearly want to keep this cost to a minimum. A quick conversation with the deliverers revealed that for working from 7am to 3pm, they get paid £45. I make that significantly less than the minimum wage.
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Back in the mists of antiquity, if memory serves, I believe young Finnegan was arraigned for high treason and racism etc for impugning the editorial priorities of aforementioned publication and its peculiar choice of Page Three celebs, Playmate Centrefold etc. Innocent times those. Come back George, Lorna, Nilgun, Brian Haley and the rest of the old "Cabinet". Maddy's a brave woman for risking the wrath of Kober's Kover People.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Eddie, I believe it is this to which you refer. IMO, it still stands as the best post. Funniest ever. HOL gold. Immortal.
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Permalink Reply by KP on
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I wondered this myself Maddy when the latest copy was put in my letterbox the other day. Mine has gone straight into the recycling bin. I totally agree it's a waste of money and they should just send out an A4 leaflet if they want to keep people updated
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Not everyone has/uses the internet and so some form of printed info news for Haringey residents is needed and useful. But HP is mostly propaganda and spin from the Nomenklatura. You can't tell them that though sincxe tehy seem to believe their own propoaganda or are whipped to tow the party line.
They jsut don't get it! So much reources beiing spent and to such poor effect!
People settle for so little from these elected reps.
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Permalink Reply by Finsbury Park Ranger on
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We run a mag like that at our place. its. We spend 4.5k per 3000 copies and it costs about 20k - 30k a year in man hours to run it and feed into it, I would guess.
However when you are dealing with difficult to engage people with no phone or computers it's hard to do anything else to keep them informed.
The messenger service probably shouldn't be shot, the message on the other hand might deserve a bullet or two.
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In the big scheme of things, HP doesn't cost a lot. But by the same measure, neither does a day care centre. Given a choice, I'd cut back on the former.
The Medium of the Message: one way to reduce costs would be to slim down the huge print run that sees a copy of HP forced into every household in the Borough, whether they want it or not, whether they read if from cover to cover or they cast it straight into the recycling bin.
They could make the print version opt-in, so that those who want a paper version could still get it. In the same way that everyone is encouraged to use online services, those residents with internet connections could be encouraged to subscribe to PDFs: the marginal distribution costs would be the tiniest fractions of a penny ... or zero cost.
In the current climate of cuts, the current distribution system is wasteful of cash as well as paper. The size and quality of colour and content of HP have already been discussed (though agree with your last clause FPR!).
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I think they could actually afford to scrap it, it's crap isn't it. If you want some specific information, go to the library or call the council and let them send you whatever it is you want.
As you say, for people that are really really vulnerable, just make sure you don't cut their essential suport services and use money saved to support them.
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.. And let the services that help vulnerable people communicate with them in more meaningful ways.
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It's not entirely crap. And there is a need to let people know what's happening - whether Haringey residents or answering enquiries from outside news media. But it should not be a Propaganda Unit for the majority political group at the time.
I'm wondering if Councils elsewhere have experimented with having some sort of independent panel or board to take an overview and give guidance on their information-giving function. Anyone come across this?
Currently, if anyone complains that the Council is in breach of the Recommended code of practice for local authority publicity their complaint would go to and be considered by the Chief Executive, Nick Walkley. In other words, the investigator is also judge and jury. This set-up hardly inspires confidence that he won't also be the defence barrister, especially when the matter is one on which he made the decision; has shaped the policy; or is something which the Dear Leader has commanded.
The Code of Practice includes the requirement that Councils' publicity should be: lawful; cost effective; objective; even-handed; appropriate; have regard to equality and diversity; and be issued with care during periods of heightened sensitivity. Does anyone think Haringey fully complies with any of them?
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