4 January (Part 3) - Bloggers in the News Shopper
It
was my intention to say nothing about Bonkers’ appearance in today’s News Shopper but having read the
comments on their website
I feel obliged to fill in a few details
The News Shopper reporter asked me last Thursday if I had any views on the
council’s planning application for the Woolwich Building. I said I hadn’t seen
it so I couldn’t help; I supposed that he was having difficulty getting hold of
the usual suspects during the holiday period. Afterwards I felt that I had let the reporter down and
sent an email of my recollections of the council meeting that approved the
building swap. You can
read the email here.
Next day the reporter asked if he could include my comments and I agreed. I like
the idea of the blog being mentioned in the paper, not so sure about myself but
if it serves the cause…
Probably the Shopper feature doesn’t make it clear enough that my report was
based on facts taken from the council meeting, it was not necessarily my
opinion. The Woolwich building is well sited but it may be more a convenient
bodge than an ideal Town Hall. Overall I have no real complaints about the
Shopper’s report. It has a snappy headline, not absolutely accurate but it helps spread the word
about the blog, and in turn about Bexley council. Few newspaper reports are
perfect. I know how long it takes to try to ensure total accuracy and clarity on
Bonkers and fully understand the pressure there must be in producing a whole
newspaper with minimum staffing levels.
Generally my aim is to report facts, provide links to the documentation and let
you make up your own mind on whether or not Bexley council is honest and
competent. I’m sure I slip off that pedestal on occasions and lapse into
offering an opinion; in fact I’m sure I did
when the ‘Tesco swap’ was agreed,
I think I said “I was persuaded the best compromise was achieved this evening”.
Not a perfect solution, but perhaps a reasonable compromise in the circumstances.
On Page 3 the Shopper accurately reports Olly Cromwell’s situation, the first
real opportunity it has had to do so given the almost continuous holiday since
he last appeared in court.