It didn't take long for the South Wales Evening Post to respond to directions from Local World chairman, David Montgomery, to open up the newspaper to content provided by a key "partner" in the shape of Swansea City Council, and it has now added an exciting new tab on its website headed Swansea Council News.
Clicking on the tab takes readers straight to what appears to be an undiluted feed of "news" produced by the Labour council's own press department, complete with what is presumably "aligned" advertising for private health insurance ("Jump NHS Queues!"), a property letting agency, an advert placed by ING Bank promoting wind power financing, teeth whitening and an online gambling site.
The paper has not got around yet to adding a tab for Neath Port Talbot council news, but if it had, it is probably unlikely that it would carry a report on the arrest of Labour councillor Mark Jones after police searched his house in connection with suspected drugs offences.
Nye Bevan would be so proud!
It surely cannot be long before readers of the group's Carmarthen Journal are treated to something similar, with the Ministry of Spin on Jail Hill being given its own official platform to complement the unofficial control it exerts over the rest of the paper.
2 comments:
Cllr Mark Jones arrested
Evening Post link: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Port-Talbot-councillor-suspended-party-arrest/story-20222940-detail/story.html
This is happening across the U.K. At a very local level the councils are hand in hand with the national companies like Apollo cinema, etc. I caught one council who boasted they were champions of fair trade advertising Red Stripe Beer on their website, which by the way had been accessed by minors and this was at Christmas Time on their pages promoting events. The council in question have plenty more skeletons in their cupboard. Happy to open the doors whenever you like.
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