Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The depoliticianing of Haringey People
The depoliticianing of Haringey People magazine has been called for by a serving, Majority Group Councillor.
But would such a move go far enough? Is the politicisation of the council's regular publication confined to endless vanity photos and quotes from the Cabinet Member Executives? What else goes into this glossy 32-page publication?
IMO, the amount of genuine information, deserving of inclusion, could be written on a few postcards.
The council apparently sees a part of its remit as a news media organisation. But much of the material could (and should) have been left to the independent press to cover. But the "stories" from the council quarter sometimes lack objectivity and journalistic integrity - not to mention lacking interest. Unfair and subsidised competition with the local press, may have been a small factor in the recent closure of local papers. Haringey People magazine is a questionable publication on two counts:
[1] it is forced into every household in the Borough and represents an unjustified use (waste) of paper, printing ink and delivery cost.
[2] even if HP went wholly online (unlikely, but meeting the above objection), it would likely continue as a politicised organ, paid for from taxation. In the words of the Home Secretary, referring not only to HP mag, propaganda on the rates.
Depoliticianing would be a step in the right direction IMO, but only a step.
Tags for Forum Posts: haringey people
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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THE editorial stance of HP was defended some time ago in an area assembly meeting by Cllr. Lorna Reith. She asserted that HP acted to counter or balance negative coverage by the local press. This brazen admission of the bias of the HP proprietor - if it was ever valid - is now less relevant with the demise of the Journal series.
But will we see a lowering of the self-promotion and tendentiousness (or size, or frequency) of HP, in response to the retreat of the local press?
My guess is that some councilors will, as another contributor observed, privately be whooping with joy at the end of a publication that sometimes recorded and reported criticism of the council.
As the council is fond of saying, not everyone has access to the Internet. And as a Borough-wide publication, HP is closer to being alone in presenting unchallenged, a single adulatory view of the council and which will record only good news stories, like some religious publications.
So many of the council's activities is subject to secrecy, sometimes to an obsessive degree. This often allows poor governance. All this makes Harringayonline more valuable, as a relatively unfettered forum.
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Permalink Reply by Seema Chandwani on
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I dont mind the pictures of ribbon cutting fake smiling Cllrs in HP - as long as THEY pay for it and equally allows for other political parties to buy propaganda pages within it. Failing that, it should stop being used to promote the work of Cllrs and return to telling tax payers about the services.
Some bits in HP are useful, but to be honest I bin the crap!
They should send our a survey, ask people to opt in wanting a copy, when they realise its only 75 households, all of whom are Cllrs and their families, they'd shelve it and find better ways of communicating info to people.
@ Clive, why don't you do a poll on HoL?
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Hi Seema, I think we agree about HP!
return to telling tax payers about the services
yes, I accept this is fair - and it doesn't need 32 glossy pages of 4-colour printing to perform this function!
why don't you do a poll on HoL?
Polls can be run on scientific lines. The major polling organisations are good at coming up with credible results because of their sound methodology. They go to some lengths to ensure they have a genuine random sample. By doing this systematically, it is possible to come up with conclusions having sampled only a tenth of one percent of a population. And they cost, of course!
The problem with polls on media and web sites is that that the sample is a self-selecting sample and the results cannot be taken seriously. So if a poll were held on Hol, it would only be a bit of fun. On HoL there are only one or two apologists for HP of whom I'm aware and so (unfairly) on HoL (or any such similar), you might get 99% dislike for the council's newspaper.
Or, the new sub-group that you have identified, CATFAF*, might organise a mass support operation, again distorting the result. In America this can be known as astroturfing.
By the same token, the council's claims that "independent" research shows that HP is resident's preferred way of receiving information from the council, is not something that I necessarily believe - in fact I am suspicious about the claim.
*Councillors and their friends and family
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CATFAF....... LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!! I just burst out laughing!
Oh I do love you Victor Meldrew ((Hugs))
Cat-faf!! Hahahaha! x
PS: We agree on a lot of things Clive, you are actually really cool to discuss things with
I agree about the research, but sometimes you have to put stuff out to get a debate back. If it was reported 85% of Haringey residents are not in favour of Haringey People, let them dispute it.
Personally I think the obvious solution is: The council scrap it, give the money to a local news outlet who guarantee 8 pages of service info in a paper (like a suppliment), journalists then report indepedently on news and it gets distributed to peoples homes.
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Seema, to describe HP magazine, I've come up with Councilors' and their ludicrous imposition trying to entertain residents. I'm more of a chess Meldrew than a crossword Meldrew, so perhaps you can help to better reverse-engineer could might become a new and popular acronym, (CATLITTER). I'm sure Mr Finnegan could contribute if he was minded.
Cllr. Stanton has an inconstant affection for Haringey Politician magazine, but he once wisely suggested that if I didn't like it, I could use my copy to line the bottom of a cat tray. But which breed of cat would make the best use of it?
[BTW, no one is as cool as the real Victor Meldrew]
Meow
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Mine will only use it if a certain politician's face is visible
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Michael has your cat been reading comments on HoL about Haringey Politician or more likely, have you been training your cat? Are you feeding your cat anything in particular to augment this phenomenon? My whiskers tell me that your pet is merely a cats paw for your own views.
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