A regional daily’s deputy editor has defended its decision to splash on the opening of a new fried chicken outlet on its patch against criticisms from fellow journalists.
The Worcester News revealed on Friday’s front page that the city would be getting a second branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken, a story which came out of a council planning meeting one of the paper’s reporters had attended.
However, the splash courted criticism on Twitter both from readers and from other journalists, including a former reporter for the News.
John Wilson, the paper’s deputy editor, has now hit back at the story’s critics in a piece on his personal blog, claiming that “less sanctimonious” readers would welcome the coverage.
Wrote John: “Yet again, the Worcester News’s choice of story for its front page has riled the Twitterati. [Friday’s] paper revealed that another KFC takeaway, the city’s second, is to open.
“But our decision to splash on the story drew derision from some, who felt the story was too trivial to merit its prominent position.”
John’s response came after former News journalist Tom Guest, now working in recruitment, posted on Twitter: “How come this page 7 nib accidentally got used as the front page splash, John?!
“I don’t mean to be critical, I just find this click-bait led era of journalism a bit soulless and depressing…I guess journalism has changed a lot in last few years.”
Tom’s views were echoed by freelance journalist Jon Card, who added: “Who says local papers are dead? Anybody who reads the Worcester News.”
He later added by way of clarification: “Is a new takeaway really the biggest story in Worcester this week?”
However, on his blog John denied the story was “trivial”, citing a social media campaign launched in 2008 to bring the first branch of KFC to Worcester.
He added the splash was one of the top 10 most popular stories across all Newsquest-owned websites for most of Friday, and had almost six times more views than the next most popular story on the Worcester News website.
Added John: “Saying we are getting things wrong in these circumstances is like telling a shop to take its most popular item out of the window because it is selling too well!
“What our critics find difficult to accept is that newspapers like the Worcester News are now much more likely to use stories their readers want to read, rather than stories some commentators think they should read. This does not as a consequence entail dumbing down the news.
“Those who see little worth in our KFC story should take time to read some of the comments people are posting, both on our website and Facebook page. It is a worthy community story in the best traditions of local newspapers, and some interesting points have been raised.
“If your life is affected by these issues they are far from trivial, and in less sanctimonious circles our treatment of this story is more likely to be welcomed than sneered at.”
The controversy is not the first in the regional press to involve KFC. In April, HTFP reported how the Gloucestershire Echo was urging the owner of a discarded bag of chicken from the chain to come forward telling their story.
Student Callum Meek, 21, was later fined for lttering by Cheltenham Borough Council after responding to the Echo’s request.
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It is not an earth-shattering story, but KFC, new shops and the like are what people like to read. Worcester News looks to be in tune with its readership.
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It’s right that readers hold the media to account but social media turns everybody into an editor. Do you splash on the KFC story or the jailing of the ‘cowardly car park rapist’ (in the strap at the top of the page)? Sometimes the best option is the least obvious one.
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“He added the splash was one of the top 10 most popular stories across all Newsquest-owned websites for most of Friday, and had almost six times more views than the next most popular story on the Worcester News website.”
I knew the British regional press was in trouble, but I didn’t realise it was as serious as this.
Perhaps a listicle of those “Top 10″ stories would be even more revealing than the news that a second Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet is coming to Worcester. It would certainly be more interesting.
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Don’t see the big deal myself, such stories are standard local paper fair. People want to know when things are happening in their town, whether it be new jobs or new places to eat. There’s lots of papers that constantly splash on crime and people get fed up of that too. I don’t think KFC on the front page can be classed as clickbait either, there’s a lot wrong with local journalism these days – but I just don’t see why people are getting wound up about this.
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To be honest in today’s web-obsessed media world it hardly matters what is on the front of a local paper. Especially as so many papers do advertising wraps that obliterate any front pages.
Not everyone wants to read about rape on the front page, though a less trivial story might have been a better choice. I don’t think for one moment money came into this from potential KFC advertising, of course.
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You’ll probably find that the web clicks were by young people who don’t buy the paper. The ones that buy the paper are the older generation who wouldn’t eat there or give a flying nugget about it. Mailonline is a perfect example, some stories will jump to the top of the website and stay there for a good while, but you won’t see it in the paper as its clickbait. Now KFC won’t need to advertise as you have given them £1000’s of free advertising. No wonder the regional press is dying.
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Oh c’mon! All this argument! Face it: it was a rotten news day, deadline was approaching, and they hadn’t got a splash. I can hear the editorial conference from here. So they pulled a story from an earlier page, upgraded it and refilled the earlier page. Of course, with a decent reporting strength and the right attitude they should have been able to find a better story, but that’s history. Or… hey, how about courting controversy? “Yet another KFC coming to make our children fat and unhealthy” and launching a campaign for better food? Now that might have worked!
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The car park rapist is a surefire front page lead – or am I missing something here?
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Let’s not lose reality on what’s a good tale.
KFC opening isn’t when I’m sure this paper’s newsy area has lots of good stuff. Just a case of having good staff – and enough of them to go out with ears to the ground in these cutback days. It’s a newish sad low in how bad things have got. In the olden days we’d have been taken out and derided for this quality. The rapist report sounds much more interesting.
Next week: Heavy shower causes lots of people sheltering on Tuesday or Autumn fallen leaves almost cover recreation ground (see pictures in pages 4 and 5 round-up of our weather).
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I agree with Paperboy – whatever ‘newspapers’ put on their front-pages these days seems pretty irrelevant – if not then papers like the Daily Mirror would no longer exist. Last week I noticed that the Mirror had a wrap with its usual masthead included (some four page ad for something I don’t recall), with a message on the front page…. “the newspaper is inside” …. or words to that effect! How the mighty have tumbled.
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The only way that could ever be justified as a splash would be if the place burned down.
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What an absolute non-story about the opening of a new place of slaughter.. Was there nothing more newsworthy happening in Worcester on that day?
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If this is John’s idea of a splash, he is in the wrong job. Perhaps they have a vacancy behind the counter at his favourite KFC.
As for the story receiving plenty of hits on the paper’s website, it is no surprise the lead story is read more than a filler on Page 17.
Admit it John, you are addicted to fried chicken and it is clouding your judgement.
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No arborial felines that day.
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Not sure some people on here really understand how web stories and social media works…
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What’s all the fuss about? God preserve us from the vegan vigilantes.
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It rather seems as if the advertising tail is wagging the editorial dog
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Sadly, the advertising tail has been wagging the editorial dog in nearly all regional newspapers for years now. That’s why editorial staff get cut first when the suits want to save money. The commercial side have never grasped what a NEWSpaper is.
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I do worry too many newsrooms seem to work under premise that ‘best read online’ should automatically equate to ‘most prominent in print’.
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With regards ‘should the rapist’ have been the splash, as I said further up some people get sick of crime. Local dailies in the North West are often pilloried for their constant reliance on crime and gangland stories.
When I worked at my first local the biggest crime stories were ones where the criminal was known in the town, a ‘bad egg’. There were stories where people would already know he’d been convicted as word would have gotten around, but they read the paper because it was seen as the definitive account and would tell them things they didn’t already know.
Conversely, we were on deadline once when I got a press release through about a Nando’s opening and had to hide it away on page 20 or something and was absolutely gutted about that, not sure it would have been a splash but like it or not, a Nando’s opening in a town where there aren’t many places to eat was MONUMENTAL news.
Lot of snobbery when it comes to local journalism and what is, and what isn’t news I find – these kinds of stories are part of the magic mix of local journalism and why I loved it so much, for every three genuine pieces of important crime or council news there should be at least one story about an oddball who says he’s seen Elvis in Wilkinson’s. That’s the magic mix – a local paper should be at least 25% naff.
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Yippee..and we’ll all have KFC for tea.
It’s finger clicking good.
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Perhaps the biggest surprise is they don’t appear to have gone down the usual line of “bringing x number of jobs to the area” as a way of trying to make it seem ‘newsy’ and avoiding making such a story look like free advertising.
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Forget the rapist story and KFC..that Astra looks a good buy!!!
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I’d have ‘gone large’ on the rapist.
The KFC headline gives the entire story away – so need to find out more for the readers.
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I’ve just taken the time to look at the paper from that week. The most worrying thing is that the rapist story (which by the way definitely isn’t a splash) isn’t actually on page five but page seven. Perhaps the front page is more cobbled together than the editor cares to suggest.
I’d have splashed on their page three about a man proposing on a half marathon finish line. Not the best story in the world but would tick the right boxes.
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Page 1 is just one big ad, one presumably paid for.
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