Friday 11 February 2011

A Bad Week for the Advertiser

Mistakes happen and when they do they often come in threes.  That seems to be what happened to this weeks Tenbury Advertiser.

Firstly a rather "large" spelling mistake in the front page headline.


Secondly the lead story claimed that "When the planning committee - which included no Tenbury members - made its decision"  No Tenbury members?  Who do they think Phil Grove and Tony Penn are?

Thirdly, last week the advertiser correctly stated that it's combined (Ludlow & Tenbury) circulation figures had dropped to just 4708, but this week they reverted back to the 2009 figure of 5192.

Perhaps they are a little ashamed that they now only sell 1,900 copies of the Tenbury Advertiser and a further 2808 of the Ludlow version.

42 comments:

Bumblebee said...

Adrian Kibbler? Adrian Cobblers more like.

This is yet another batch of the worst cod-journalism I think I've ever seen. Totally biased and with not even the merest whiff that there are others with substantial concerns about this whole development scenario in the town. Mind you it needed quite a spread to beat his previous article in which he describes the 'wonderful oration' by a local Councilor - sickly brown-nosing of the highest order..

What ever happened to the idea of press impartiality? Tenbury Advertiser don't seem to think it's important clearly.

Nice one Mr Kibbler, you deserve the 'Cod Journalism award 2011'. You can pop it on the mantelpiece in your house way over in Bromsgrove or wherever you cunjure these hilarious fairy tales up from..

Bumblebee said...

Ghost Writer?

Actually Adrian, it's occurred to me that you probably didn't write much of this article anyway.

So much of the content tallies with Clr Penn's 'wonderful oration' [your words] at the last planning meet which rejected Tesco that I wonder if your name should be at the top of the article at all?

Surely alongside your quotes about 'the general feeling in the town' you also need to put an alternate perspective? Maybe I can help then...

Why not consider that 800+ local people formally objected to Tesco's development too. Why not also consider that the MHDC planners recommended rejection as did Tenbury Town Council and as did eventually the broad-ranging Area Planning Committee [inc. some Tenbury Clrs].

Why not also consider that in just a few weeks local people have yet again made their preferences known in the 'Tenbury Futures' survey. As of Sun 13th Feb nearly 200 people [mainly from the town] have yet again rejected a large supermarket development on the site in favour of other ideas that may benefit the community more.

Try looking here when you undertake your exhaustive and in depth research again:

http://tenbury-futures.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

TENBURY FUTURES IS A FARCE

Anonymous said...

MR Bumblebee it is you that is a farce, we all know that when a supermarket is tick on the survey you do not add the figures in. it is you that is corrupt

Anonymous said...

Sack the proof reader!! LOL

Re: Tenbury Futures (as it has popped up in this thread) - Could we have a thread to discuss new ideas for the site please? As you cant seem to leave any comments on the tenbury futures blogspot site.

Bumblebee said...

Mmmn..

On all the posters and forms and in the papers the 'Futures' people have clearly stipulated:

"All forms handed to Tenbury Town Council and MHDC". Now I'm no rocket scientist but won't this act guarantee that the returned figures have to be displayed accurately online? Each week the No. of returns are numbered on the graphs seemingly. Wouldn't TTC or MHDC be the first then to spot any manipulation of figures when they look the forms over post Feb?

Whatever the local opinions are they will be reflected on these graphs. Having a quick look it's clear that the majority [at present] want a re-use of the RBB building and a blended development of the site and not a large supermarket.

I guess this could change if enough people returned forms that said otherwise but the reality is that nearly 200 local people have had their say to date and this number appears to be growing.

Of course these trends won't sit well with everyone's world view. If you've convinced yourself that a large supermarket is the best solution to the site development then 100's of local people saying otherwise will be news that you don't want to hear. I guess you're options are then to either work with the emerging views or try to discredit/undermine the feedback process and pretend it's not happening..

Anonymous said...

If you think Bumblebee fixes the figures, why dont you Yesco set your own survey up - You couldnt even be bothered to send a petition in people had signed to MHDC .

Anonymous said...

Get Bumblebee on the Council .

Anonymous said...

If you think the figures are corrupt -Do your own survey .If you read it properly some (not many) people want a supermarket.

Anonymous said...

Interesting to see that somebody has set up a Yes to Tenbury Tesco blog
yestenburytesco.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

We do get visitors to our beautiful town you know .Perhaps they to are are concerned about a huge Tesco destroying it .

Check the facts said...

yestenburytesco blog has precisely one comment on it. Approximately nobody has been looking at it. There is only ONE month in the last eight where the visitor count has managed to top one a week. This suggests there is little support for the proposed Tesco.

@WR15 said...

The Yes Tesco blog was a demonstration blog to show the Yesco group what was available, but they elected to use Facebook so it wasn't continued with. It was never publicly advertised and I'm surprised that the search engines have listed it. I don't think you can extrapolate your assumption based on the traffic to this site.

Anonymous said...

As Mr Penn said its the 'silent' majority that want Tesco.If they are silent how does he know?

Anonymous said...

Bumblebee drop a few bombs on the yes to Tesco site and wake them up .They have been silent for to long.

Anonymous said...

Yesco had the chance to engage with the public in the same way as the TesNOs - but turned it down???

Bumblebee said...

I don't call Halesowen local either..

If you look on the 'Futures' blog then they've said where replies have come from geographically. If you take a moment to read you'll find that the majority of replies come from the Tenbury area.

The rest of replies [I guess] have been written by either people nearby who use Tenbury for shopping or the odd visitor from further afield.

No one can stop tourists and/or visitors to the town expressing their views too. Realistically [given the poor tourist season last summer in the town] we might just want to listen to them too though - they may have a point..

As for 'corrupt'.. You'll need to explain exactly what you mean and cite examples/evidence as you've lost me..

Anonymous said...

Quote - Me "...As you cant seem to leave any comments on the tenbury futures blogspot site."

I have now left my idea on bumblebee's site here - http://tenbury-futures.blogspot.com/2011/02/interim-analysis-5th-february-2011.html#comments

Can anyone else throw anything into the pot?

Rugby fan 72 said...

Well done Tenbury Blog for drawing this farce of a newspaper to my attention, i have stopped reading it as it is historically inaccurate and 1 sided. I realsie that even national papers are bias, however they do tend to be accurate when being bias....

How interesting that the Advertiser appears to support Tesco, yet still at the same time expects the local shops who are against it (Spar & Bowkett's et al) to distribute it and advertise within...i would suggest that if maybe the local shops become suitably vexxed by this one sided journalism they may choose not to stock the comic....and i wonder what would happen to the circulation then! Never mind the loss in advertising revenue...

I was touched though to see that Mr Jenner has a lot of respect for his father in law - how sweet.

Anonymous said...

200 people to have their say .
NOT MANY COMPARE WITH WHOSE WHO WERE intimidated INTO OBJECTING when they went shopping in spar.
At the end of the day it is the owner of the land that will decide the future so tenbury futures go and take a running jump into the teme where your type belong. YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME

Anonymous said...

Well here is their chance for the people who were so called 'intimidated'to have their say again ,see the Tenbury Futures blog- Yet again if you view the facts Tesco is not wanted or needed in Tenbury .
Yesco -what part of this dont you understand ?

Anonymous said...

Tesco is coming and that is it.
Fight it as much as you want. TESCO IS COMING give up now you are wasting your time

Anonymous said...

Tesco is coming ? Have I missed something since being away ? Last I heard they were refused and havent decided on to appeal or not. Well maybe mr anonymous should enlighten us on their goings on as he seems to know what tesco are doing

Anonymous said...

Where do you live Anonymous-Is it Welshpool? Tenbury Tesco has been refused .

Will make money from this site said...

If people care they should just take a few minutes to complete the form in the Teme Valley Times and say what they want.
Although the site is privately owned, the owner does not own the development rights - the owner has to ask the District Council for permission to develop the site. And the District Council says the owner must 'consult' the public. Whether people are for or against Tesco they should do the adult thing and fill in the form, so their opinion will be counted. A proper pre-planning public consultation is standard practice on large projects but hasn't happened on this plan.

Bumblebee said...

Adrian Kibbler.. More..

Just to carry on the initial theme of this post..

The Press Complaints Commission [PCC] have an "Editor's Code of Practice". Excerpts below read as follows:

1.1: "The press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information."

1.2: "A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion once recognised must be corrected promptly and with due prominence, and -where appropriate- an apology published."

2. Opportunity to Reply.
A fair opportunity for reply to inaccuracies must be given when reasonably called for.

Mr Kibbler's article [ignoring for a moment the schoolboy spelling errors and brown-nosing] has no balancing comments at all representing the views of the 100's concerned locally about a Tesco Development.. As such the article is clearly biased, lacks proper impartiality and certainly displays overtly distorted reporting.

Anyone who wishes to raise these clear contraventions of the PCC Code of Practice [or any similar concerns] can contact Mr Kibbler's editorial team as follows:

Editor: Fiona Phillips
fiona.phillips@midlands.newsquest.co.uk

or

Deputy Editor: Andrew Doyle
andrew.doyle@ludlowadvertiser.co.uk

Anonymous said...

Did anybody else see Will Chase on Channel 4s 'The People Supermarket'

Come on Will, come and talk to the people of Tenbury to see what they really want for the cattle market site .

Bumblebee said...

Well it's clear from the programme that Will Chase was willing to consider investing in the edgy idea of a "People's Supermarket"..

Clear also that he's frustrated with the 'big 4' supermarkets for their bonkers ideas about perfect-looking fruit and veg - he's obviously suffered a the hands of this strategy as a producer.

Maybe he'll consider investing in the people of Tenbury too by listening to various alternate ideas/costings for the Cattle Market site?

Click here for one of Will's houses said...

No Bumble, Will Chase owes his wealth to Tesco's 'it must look pretty' policy.
Here is what Will Chase said:

"Tesco created Tyrrells in the first place"
"If it was not for them, I would not have had the money or ingenuity to keep my farm alive."


And after going bankrupt in 1992....
"I started again in 1993. Tesco was looking for pretty potatoes, but this side of the country it was all farmers in smocks, with Hereford cattle or hops. We knew we could grow potatoes and we did – they had beautiful white skins and Tesco was prepared to pay high prices. We built up a great business on the back of this."

Bumblebee said...

Thanks Mr or Mrs Click Here for One of Will's Houses.

I knew that Tesco made Will Chase but my point referred to his actions and comments in the C4 "People's Supermarket" programme on last night [you can see it on 4OD still if you haven't seen it/want to].

I thought it was interesting that he was initially willing to take a punt investment-wise in a community venture. Clearly in the end he felt it wasn't quite what he'd anticipated but interesting never the less. Maybe he is a community-hearted bloke after all?

Anonymous said...

COME on tesco i wish you luck when you open your store in around 18 months i will be supporting it i bet bumblebee will be shopping there to

Anonymous said...

So anonymous you been in contact with tesco and they will be up and open in 18 months ? Wow that's fast seeing as they either got to go back through planning process or appeal process.

Ian said...

I was thinking of making a contribution to this discussion but(I hope you don't mind me saying this) it has now become completely puerile!

Anonymous said...

It seems to me that the Tenbury Futures survey shows that a supermarket is not needed or wanted by the majority of people who have completed the questionnaire.

Anonymous said...

How, many people live in Tenbury?

How many people live in the Tenbury catchment area?

How many people have completed the questionnaire?

How many people who answered the questionnaire didn't object to Tesco?

Normanw said...

It doesn't matter whether you agree or disagree with the idea of a superstore the fact remains that the Bridge and the area around the site entrance/exit just could not cope with the extra traffic that a Tesco would create. Teme street is already cluttered and chaotic with massive lorries, tractors and buses trying to negotiate the kink in the Bridge and the inevitable lines of parked vehicles. The main priority for Tenbury is MORE PARKING SPACE. More visitors would come to the town if we had proper parking facilities. By all means use the site for a craft, sport or medical centre if that's what we need but please ensure that the rest of the space is given over to PARKING.

Anonymous said...

So let me get this straight. Don't bring Tesco to town because this will bring people to town and will cause chaos, but provide additional parking to bring people to town, which won't cause chaos.

Shopping chaos = bad
Tourism chaos = good

and you are right and WCC Highways and expert traffic consultants are wrong.

Bumblebee said...

How, many people live in Tenbury?

- Approx 3500.

How many people live in the Tenbury catchment area?

- Hard to say - double that number or more - depends what you define as 'catchment' and where this ends geographically*.

How many people have completed the questionnaire?

- 240 to date [20th Feb, 2011], mainly from Tenbury and then some from outlying areas + a few visitors to the town from further afield.

How many people who answered the questionnaire didn't object to Tesco?

- 10% or 26 of 240 support a supermarket on the site at present.

- 70% or 169 of 240 are rejecting a supermarket development on the site at present.

[The other 20% making up the other categories such as 'unsure' and blank form fields].

How many people have had the chance to feed in their own thoughts over the last few weeks?

- All of the Tenbury catchment area* and Teme Valley.

Anonymous said...

Very well written post!!

Anonymous said...

You're exactly correct with this writing!!

Anonymous said...

All round incredibly written article!

Anonymous said...

I don't disagree with this article!!!