A civic group has criticised the “quality and relevance” of its local newspaper in a letter to a regional publisher.
The Dover Society has written to Trinity Mirror about the Dover Express over what it calls a “lack of information about what’s going on in the town.”
The Society says readers are now seeing more news in the Express about villages near Canterbury, almost 20 miles away, than those near Dover.
The letter, which was sent to Trinity Mirror’s HQ in Canary Wharf, comes after the departure of the newspaper’s former editor Phil Hayes, who left to work for the town’s MP Charlie Elphicke.
Society chairman Derek Leach OBE wrote in the letter: “The executive committee of The Dover Society (460 members) has discussed the deterioration in quality, quantity and relevance to Dover of the Dover Express, which now has information not only of the adjacent Folkestone area but much further afield.
“With a lack of reporters out and about some important local events do not get a mention and some details are out of date (like the name of the current editor).
“We appreciate that times are hard for both national and local newspapers, but the Express was a much loved newspaper and is now losing its former good reputation and readers. We would welcome your comments.”
It is understood Luke Jacobs, Trinity Mirror brands editor for Kent, intends to speak to Mr Leach in response to the letter.
A Trinity Mirror spokesperson said: “In Kent we are focusing on building a local and engaged audience with a strategy that includes covering broader content on top of just news and sport, presenting content in different ways and embracing digital and new ways of doing journalism, all within the necessary financial constraints.”
Trinity Mirror recently merged the website of the Express with seven others to form county-wide news platform Kent Live.
The company announced in May that the equivalent of 13.5 full-time posts were under threat in Kent, Essex and Surrey as part of a rolling restructure of its regional titles.
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Brands editor! Such a ridiculous job title tells us all we need to know about state of affairs in the wacky, platformed world of Kent newspapers.
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Not just Dover. Other once big-selling Trinity Mirror Kent titles, such as the Isle of Thanet Gazette, now have pitifully little local content. Not sure why the spokesman needed nearly 50 words to say: “We’re giving up on news”.
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If embracing “new ways of doing journalism” means shoe-horning stories from 20 miles away into the paper, it’s probably best you take another look at the old ways of doing journalism.
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my local council and civic groups have given up on seeing a reporter in two biggest towns of nearly 80,000 people from so-called local JP paper now cobbled together from 20 miles distance. Not just a TM problem by any means. Id like to name the paper but that would be grossly unfair on the poor souls trying to fill it every week as best they can. Blame management for this sad state of local affairs.
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Why can’t any newspaper “spokesperson” ever talk in plain English anymore? Mumbo-jumbo speak is just waffle…
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The people of Dover should think themselves lucky. They could have to suffer The Hartlepool Mail
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Instead of “a Trinity Mirror spokesman” wouldnt it have been more relevant and apposite for the “brands editor” to have answered the piece?
Using a faceless spokesperson further undelines the point being made by the Dover Society
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Kent was once a thriving place with competing quality papers in almost all towns west of Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge. Only twenty years ago, many places had competing papers from the Kent Messenger Group and Parret & Neves. In addition, Adscene was a newsy free paper published in many towns by another publisher, and the KM Extra was another series of free papers which compared favourably with many paid-fors today. North Kent had competition between the decent Gravesend/Dartford Reporter and the Kentish Times group, as well as the Medway-based Evening Post from the KM group.
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Dover isnt my local area but TM really are dismantling the local news industry countrywide. Its such a shame. Currently, I feel if the facebook based ‘Spotted in…’ launched a title that it would be more engaging than the beleaguered remaining staff can put out. I feel for those people…
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The paper has fallen far since the takeover of Trinity Mirror and the implementation of its new product Kent Live over the summer.
A huge shame, its small team deservedly won Kent Newspaper of the Year in 2015 and 2016 against substantially larger titles.
http://www.kpbawards.co.uk/copy-of-finalists
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There’s so much we can’t do that we used to do because there’s less of us, a process that is repeated year on year. I haven’t spoken to people for months who I used to speak to on at least a weekly basis. I think that’s one of the major reasons titles are struggling now. Our former readers perceive, rightly or wrongly, that we are no longer interested in the community as a whole because our previously solid connections are being severed one by one. And if we are seen as not caring, why should they?
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