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Ex-journalist’s play about local paper ‘clickbait’ hits the stage

A former regional journalist’s play about so-called “clickbait” in the local newspaper industry has been performed on stage.

Alan Muir’s Losing The Rag also examined job losses and centralisation of resources at a fictional paper called the Avondale Advertiser.

The play sees the Advertiser pitched into a competition with other titles in the same newspaper group in which the one which gets the most website hits will be saved from closure.

Alan previously worked on the Stirling edition of Aberdeen-based daily the Press & Journal and is now in local authority PR.

The cast of Losing The Rag

The cast of Losing The Rag

He told the Glasgow Evening Times: “The newspaper that gets the most website hits will be saved from the axe. It’s a race against time.

“But more mistakes creep into the production of the paper as resources are depleted and brain cells lost.”

Of his change in careers, Alan, who now works for a local authority, added: “I didn’t want to leave papers. But local newspapers were suffering the death of a thousand cuts and with two children to look after I really had to think to the future.

“Well there were the really dark times – you know what it’s like when you have to knock on doors or write a story you know will upset people – but there were lots of great times, where the office was a great place to be and filled with fun.

He added: “I loved finding the local stores that became national. I remember doing a story once about a woman who wanted to be rehoused by the council because her old flat was haunted. She had the Ouija board out, she was so spooked, and talked of things being moved about during the night, unexplained objects.

“But during the interview I looked over at her son, who was smirking. I thought ‘I’ve found the ghost!’ But I ran the story anyway and all the dailies picked it up.”

5 comments

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  • September 19, 2018 at 7:36 am
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    Great stuff and good luck with it Alan.
    We used to have a saying in newspapers when looking at unlikely tales: “You couldn’t make it up!” but looking at what has happened in newspapers in the last couple of decades, that saying has never been more appropriate!
    Events in the industry are perfect for satire and it is good to see, in this instance, art imitating life.
    Incidentally, I was interested in your explanation of why you left newspapers, (which I find poignant) – hundreds of good journalists up and down the country have similar experiences.
    It has been good to see that in so many cases, including your own, the talent carelessly squandered by the newspapers is being resourceful and inventive and not allowing their own personal story to be one of discarded potential.
    There’s another old journalistic phrase which springs to mind: “Life’s a rewrite!” :-)

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  • September 19, 2018 at 7:37 am
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    P.S. Just found out the HTFP website uses emojis.
    Who knew? 😀

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  • September 19, 2018 at 7:58 am
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    I too am surprised that no ones picked up on the ‘ you couldn’t make it up’ fiasco the regional press has become in the past four or five years with knee jerk panic reactionary decision making, desperate attempts to grab ad revenues and the headless chicken way middle management has operated,and made it into a ‘Hot Metal’ type tv comedy.
    The material’s all out there just waiting to be picked up and used, though as mentioned previously most people would find it all too ridiculous to be true!
    Good luck with the play Alan

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  • September 19, 2018 at 8:48 am
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    “a competition with other titles in the same newspaper group in which the one which gets the most website hits will be saved from closure.”

    An announcement on the implementation of this is expected with the next few days from Newsquest and Reach (around)

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  • September 19, 2018 at 2:39 pm
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    Sorry – is this a fictional piece or a true-life documentary? It’s just that it’s so hard to tell these days…

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