The local press has been caught up in a pre-election political storm after a four-page wraparound advertising the Conservative Party appeared on several regional newspapers.
With less than a week to go until the general election, the wrap has been published on the front of several weeklies covering marginal seats including the Lancaster Guardian, Lincolnshire Echo, Eastbourne Herald and Hastings & St Leonards Observer.
The wrap, described by one former weekly editor as “inexcusable,” features a message from Prime Minister David Cameron urging readers to vote Conservative in next Thursday’s poll.
But while one of the publishers involved has defended the move as “good business sense,” a Labour candidate in another of the areas targeted claimed large numbers of readers had told her they were cancelling their subscriptions to the paper.
The wrap as featured in the Hastings & St Leonards Observer
It is understood that the wrap, which carries a small strapline denoting it as an ‘advertiser’s announcement,’ has run across seven Johnston Press newspapers in total.
It also appeared on Local World title the Lincolnshire Echo, which insisted on a larger ‘advertiser’s announcement’ notice.
Among those critical of the decision to print it was Amina Lone, Labour’s candidate for the marginal Lancashire seat of Morecambe & Lunesdale, which is part of the Lancaster Guardian’s patch.
Said Amina: “I’ve been inundated with people emailing and calling me, saying they’re appalled and some are going to cancel their subscription.”
She added: “(Labour) approached the paper before Christmas about having a wraparound and we were told categorically they were not going to do them.
“To say that you’re impartial and then not be impartial is absolutely disrespectful to your readers. It’s just not cricket.”
Matt Cornish, former editor of the Daventry Express and Craven Herald, described the wrap as “inexcusable” on Twitter.
He added that he would have refused to run it had he been the Observer’s editor, stating the fact it was a paid-for advertisement was not made “as obvious as it should be.”
However Lincolnshire Echo publisher Steve Fletcher said: “The decision to publish the wrap made business sense and all political parties would have been welcome to make the same approach.
“It is clearly marked as an advert. We have carried ads from most parties across our titles in Lincolnshire in the run up to the election, including a wrap from UKIP in our papers covering the Boston and Skegness constituency.
“The main parties spent £9.1m on advertising during the 2010 General Election campaign and it makes business sense for the regional media to try and take a fair share of this spending.
“I know a number of other titles from other groups have also carried the wrap.”
In a piece inside the paper explaining the Observer’s move, editor-in-chief Gary Shipton said: “Let me make it quite clear, this newspaper does not support any political party.
“We have always accepted advertising from legitimate parties – although we have never seen a promotional push on quite this scale before.
“This major advertising campaign on the eve of a neck-and-neck General Election shows that despite every form of lobbying, national politicians see the local press as one of the most important and effective means of communicating their message.”
A Johnston Press spokeswoman said: “We have run the Conservative wrap today across a small number of our titles and are currently looking into the issue raised by Amina Lone.”
HTFP is awaiting a comment from the Conservative Party on the issue.
The wrap as it appeared on the Lincolnshire Echo with the larger ‘Advertiser’s Announcement’ strapline
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Disgusted.
Bad enough nationals keep telling people which way they should vote. Now the regionals/locals have join in. Gives journalism a bad name.
What happened to the ‘fair and balanced’ ethics of the trade?
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The Daily Telegraph has already sacrificed its credibility by soft-pedalling on negative stories about major advertisers. Now the regional press is succumbing to the lure of the lucre by selling its soul to political parties.
There is a common theme here: both are managed by people with absolutely no understanding of ‘real’ journalism who are willing to cast editorial principles aside for short-term financial gain. It is a suicidal policy because readers aren’t daft: they will conclude (rightly so) that they can no longer rely on newspapers for a balanced approach to major stories if there are over-riding commercial considerations at stake.
Wraparounds are quite different from in-paper advertising. They are intended to subvert the paper’s news judgements for the day/week when they appear, and mislead readers into believing the advertiser’s ‘message’ is the paper’s editorial posture. The fact they carry an advertising stamp is neither here nor there: the paper’s titlepiece is at the top of the page, thus giving credence to the material below.
This was a catastrophic error of judgment, but unfortunately reflects what becomes clearer and clearer by the week: that journalism is now a minor consideration in the regional press, and that the emphasis now is on amassing revenue, whatever the cost in terms of the paper’s credibility as a news source.
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Rose, get a grip. What do you expect? Advertising is short, money is needed, and any party could have done it.
Nothing to do with ethics – it’s necessity.
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This is, of course, an absolute disgrace and a complete betrayal of these newspapers’ staff and readership. Anyone with an ounce of judgment should have recognised that immediately – but there aren’t many people like that calling the shots these days.
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It’s not a betrayal at all! Cornish is just trying to make a name for himself. It has been pointed out that every party had the opportunity to do the same. Get off your liberal high horses!
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Truth:
Junking a paper’s hard-won integrity to trouser a few quid on a once-in-five-years deceitful mock front page wrap is NOT financially necessary.
An insult to readers’ intelligence, yes.
An embarrassment to journalists, yes.
But absolbloodylutely NOTHING to do with balancing the books, just another brick out of the crumbling wall of editorial values.
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It’s money, which is what the print media badly needs. The wrap is clearly defined as an advertiser’s announcement. Someone’s job could depend on the money the ad brought in.
Remember, it’s now a much different world than it used to be. The best days are far behind us. Now survival is uppermost. If it’s not illegal, what’s the problem?
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Here’s a more realistic viewpoint. http://www.thespinalley.co.uk/the-perils-of-the-political-wrap/
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I’m heartily sick of pompous pillocks who bleat on about standards and integrity in this sort of situation. The core of the newspaper business is carrying advertising, always has been, and to turn away legitimate business because you might not agree with its point of view or you think some readers will have a kneejerk nosebleed is where the dishonesty lies.
Apparently these moaners have no problem with local papers carrying thinly disguised ads for knocking shops, dodgy loan firms, restaurants they know have been in trouble with environmental health, builders with a reputation for bodged work, and the rest – but they shouldn’t carry clearly labelled advertising by a legitimate political party? Give me strength.
Has the Royal Mail lost all its credibility because it takes money to deliver election leaflets?
I find it reassuring that in this day and age some political parties think it’s worth their while to spend limited campaign funds in this way – if there is a second general election this year, let’s hope they all follow suit.
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Not true that it was open to all parties. The Lancaster and Fleetwood candidate Cat Smith has evidence that they were told categorically that such ‘advertising’ wasn’t available. The ads were booked nationally and local editors were told to ‘put up or shut up’. The ads are indistinguishable from editorial. A boycott campaign has started in Lancaster, a very left leaning city and this could be the death of a newspaper that has declined by 50% despite a great team. A team of course with no pay rises, colleagues left, overworked and yet the man who oversees the company, and probably sanctioned these adverts, earns £1.65m and a 7.5% pay rise.
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Face facts: there is NOTHING, providing it’s legal, that most major publishing groups would turn away as advertising and they have no qualms about where it’s placed. I left Northcliffe shortly after the newly-installed executive triumphed about selling off page 2&3 to advertisers.
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Wraparound is clearly designed to look like it’s the newspaper’s splash. Why else use the masthead and lay the content out with newspaper style headline?
I’ve seen plenty of wraparounds for supermarkets, Christmas gift offers and DIY stores but I have NEVER seen one which carries the paper’s masthead above adverts for baked beans and barbecues.
If Labour asked to do this and was categorically told it wasn’t an option, only to find their rival doing it, then expect mass cancellations and boycotts by Labour readers as well as those of people who don’t support either party but are disgusted that it looks like the newspaper is supporting a particular party. And it does look like that, regardless of the advertising feature logo.
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Cornish is absolutely right and this wrap is a very bad decision – one that the few remaining reporters will probably suffer for when it comes to dealing with local politicians in the future. A desperate money-grubbing move.
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I didn’t contact HTFP, Darcy, I just tweeted my disgust that my hometown paper, and one I used to work on, had done this.
HTFP used my tweet without contacting me. Although I’d rather not have been quoted – I can see why I was and my comments were made in the public domain, so fair game.
And it’s not just me – read the dozens of tweets from others about it, or look at the petition with 600 signatures calling for the paper to apologise https://www.change.org/p/the-hastings-observer-apologise-for-the-thoroughly-disgraceful-act-of-prostituting-your-front-page-as-a-paid-advertorial-to-the-conservative-party-disguised-as-news-at-a-crucial-time-in-the-general-election-whilst-pretending-to-be-a-local-newspaper-t?recruiter=12691465&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_term=des-lg-share_petition-no_msg – this is about readers feeling betrayed.
I’ve also spoke to friends who work there and at two other papers who’ve carried the ads. They’re equally disgusted and embarrassed and have been copping flack from angry readers.
So this isn’t about “making a name” for myself at all. On the contrary, it probably burns more bridges for me.
This also isn’t about party allegiance, it’s about misleading readers because the advert looks so much like a real front page.
The paper is supposed to be politically neutral, this ad has damaged that perception.
Any journalist worth their salt can seen this, so if you think this is acceptable, I presume you’re either management or in commercial.
It saddens me that ad money now trumps editorial integrity to such a degree.
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Outraged readers in Hastings have launched a petition on change.org demanding the Hastings Observer apologise for this disgraceful betrayal of journalistic values and blatant attempt at deceiving the general public.
Please sign and share this petition if you believe a ‘so-called’ local newspaper should not be allowed to get away with such behaviour – 839 have already signed so far.
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Hmm… sort of kills the argument that national politicians don’t care about local papers anymore, doesn’t it?
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I certainly hope that non-Conservative voting readers vote with their feet after this. However, the way the readership of weekly and regional papers is dropping off these days, I doubt the highly-paid men in suits will be bothered – or care.
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Anybody who doesn’t think this is wrong has never been a journalist or, at least, not a very good one.
Impartiality is the cornerstone of journalism, above everything else, above writing, above interviewing, everything.
That’s the same whether you’re a Manchester city fan writing about Manchester united, or a rabid socialist writing about UKIP, it’s your job.
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I love how these papers gleefully take the money …followed by at least one editor writing an editorial pretty well apologising for doing so.
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Far from the “maddening” crowd as I am now and looking back, someone would have been hung, drawn and quartered for this betrayal of what used to be called editorial values. First impressions are what count – and anyone looking at this can draw the conclusion it is THE newspaper’s view – and not an advert. So maybe Johnston Press, which seems to have lost all reason, can defend this?
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Fantastic! Vote Conservative and stop Labour imposing statutory press regulation.
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Newsquest has benefited substantially from the Tory millions. In Halesowen in the West Midlands, a key marginal seat, the sitting Tory MP has taken out SEVEN four-page wraparounds in the last six months or so in the Halesowen News. His Labour opponent also took one out some weeks ago but she had editorial detailing the Tory MP’s voting record rejected for publication. Interestingly, her wraparound carried a tag “advertisement” whereas none of the Tory’s did until the last two following a complaint. Newsquest in the past has carried political ads for the BNP. You can see the temptation for the companies concerned taking this money but it does corrode the ethos of the unbiased local press.
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And everybody wonders why people are don’t vote now…..
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It’s not just the Conservatives. The Wirral Globe this week had a Labour Party wrap around . . .
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Oh come on now, as long as it’s clear it’s an ad, as long as all legal parties can advertise, papers should welcome the money.
I am actually quite struck at the lack of full page political ads, certainly in the national press, compared to say the 1987 General Election when there were plenty of them, including anti-Labour ads from groups not officially connected to the Tory Party.
Their ads were much more hard hitting than the ones put out by Norman Tebbit, the party chairman at the time.
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This is not an isolated case.
I was visiting Thanet last week and the Kent Messenger’s freebie pushed through my mum’s letterbox had a Ukip wrap.
To my eye, it had clearly been designed to look like the paper’s splash was ‘Vote Ukip’.
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If a political party thinks the local paper can influence voters then what a great story that is to tell other potential advertisers. I hope the papers ad sales teams use this to their advantage over other advertising mediums.
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Reading some of the comments on this thread and the general lack of outrage out there about this says a lot, the press is dying if not dead already, and it will have major repercussions for all of us down the line I fear.
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Senior and financial executives will steamroller this home every time. That particular wedge was driven into the foundations of editorial independence several years ago. The reality is, I’m afraid, that no-one cares.
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What has gone wrong at the Lancaster Guardian? Why on earth have they thrown their hat in with the Tories?
Amina might be interested to know the paper suppressed a report on a protest against David Morris during a drop in session he held recently at a local supermarket.
It would appear that all the hospitality Morris has given editorial staff such as trips to parliament has given him an undue level of editorial control. A disgrace!
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The Kent Messenger has a four page UKIP wrap around this week – all UKIP candidates tweeting pictures of themselves with it. Don’t tell me it doesn’t make a difference.
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Spot on Antiquarian
Maybe this is the real reason editors are being removed from newspaper companies en mass?
The old newspaper men I worked for wouldn’t have countenanced this in a month of Sundays. I’m talking hand-to-hand combat here.
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Suppose it’s OK as long as it makes clear the big ad is not the paper’s view.
Has a nasty whiff of shabby about it though. Sign of the times as circulations decline and integrity sinks while companies scrape up every penny. Doom, doom, we’re all doomed! The end is also almost nigh….
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So let’s get this straight.
The same people who come on here bemoaning the death of the industry every time there is a job loss – with some justification – , now think the entire regional sector should rule itself out of a £9.1m advertising pot.
I agree the advert featured above could have been more clearly signposted, but we must credit our readers with some intelligence.
They understand it is an advert and can agree, or disagree with it, as they see fit.
They can also stop buying the paper if they desire.
To claim a paper is showing political bias by carrying a paid-for advert for a party is rather like saying it supports Tescos.
I wonder how many of the 600 people who signed the petition were card carrying Labour members, encouraged to do so by their local party?
It is also easy for former editors to stand on the sidelines saying they would have refused to carry it. Game of fantasy newspaper manager anyone?
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A revolting, unprincipled newspaper group taking grubby cash from a political party which supports revolting, unprincipled wealth. Perfect bedfellows.
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I’m a former hack. I am now a customer. A political wrap like this would stop me buying the paper, whatever the party.
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When a company attaches its brand to a political party of any persuasion, it risks alienating large swathes of its consumers. Short-term gain brings the risk of longer-term harm. Best to not go there.
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So how does the Buck Herald in Aylesbury get away with no political storm, despite running two wraps for UKIP, including one this week?
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Archant ran a four page wrap of the Great Yarmouth advertiser on the day of the election itself which beggars belief, I spoke to an ad manager here who with his ‘ naive anything for money ‘ attitude dismissed it as ‘ simply a commercial initiative to get revenue ‘
surrounded by editors without real power and who look the other way afraid to rock the boat its just another example of the desperate state things are in here when the chase for a quick buck overrides any thoughts of quality, standards or ethics
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