tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post3375125578015869664..comments2023-11-18T08:59:54.598+00:00Comments on Carmarthenshire Planning Problems and more: Open letter to the Editor of the Carmarthen Journalcaebrwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17233902574832152764noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-67565220446438613872012-09-10T20:05:09.615+01:002012-09-10T20:05:09.615+01:00Jacqui, please be assured that you have neither ex...Jacqui, please be assured that you have neither expressed nor implied that your readers should boycott or stop purchasing the Carmarthenshire Journal. I chose, as is my prerogative, to take my custom elsewhere when the Journal bowed to CCC's threat. <br /><br />I agree with StClears Times statement, "We must give people credit for seeking the truth ........." In the words of Walter Lippmann “There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil." Hopefully the new Editor will take note of comments made and restore peoples faith.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-6532982544521032642012-09-10T17:16:22.983+01:002012-09-10T17:16:22.983+01:00Thanks Tessa.
Perhaps, for other readers, I had b...Thanks Tessa.<br /><br />Perhaps, for other readers, I had better make clear that I am not in any way suggesting anyone either boycotts nor stops buying the Journal, far from it.caebrwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233902574832152764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-74296712845185074742012-09-10T16:48:12.338+01:002012-09-10T16:48:12.338+01:00Good letter. I've just cancelled my sub to th...Good letter. I've just cancelled my sub to the boring old rag after regular weekly purchases for the last 15 or so years. I note previous editor Robert Lloyd's comments, though - and if it appears (from following this and Y Cneifiwr's blogs) there is improvement I may resume my subscription.Tessanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-77220839794393107212012-09-10T15:30:26.361+01:002012-09-10T15:30:26.361+01:00Inclined to agree with Robert Lloyd. He has to get...Inclined to agree with Robert Lloyd. He has to get to grips with things. The paper is sustained through advertising so advertisers will not tolerate bad press. If Carmarthenshire County Council have threatened to withdraw a substantial amount of advertising revenue then that is an ethical decision to be made by the board at Northcliffe media. As members of the public we may be being kept in the dark by the people we elect. It is up to each and every one of us to make an informed decision at the polling booths on who we elect. We have the law, for example the freedom of information act. We must continue to monitor all aspects of local government and publish that information with all the tools available to us today. We cannot assume that the public do not know what is going on if it is being reported in other papers and magazine, websites and blogs. We must give people credit for seeking the truth and avoid getting into a blame culture, whether that is with CCC or the Journal. All that serves is to isolate ourselves even more. Better the devil you know eh?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15266634366939103357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-27760163248155888892012-09-10T14:38:55.598+01:002012-09-10T14:38:55.598+01:00@Robert Lloyd. Thanks for your comment. Yes I am a...@Robert Lloyd. Thanks for your comment. Yes I am aware that there is a new editor at the Journal and he has my very best wishes. As Cneifiwr says, maybe then this is an opportune moment to air our concerns. <br />The problem, ultimately, as I see it lies not with the paper or its proprietors, it lies with the Council and, whether this is a situation peculiar to Carmarthenshire or not, I don't believe it is the elected politicians either. They do though have a collective responsibility to challenge the actions of their employees, however high the rank. This never seems to happen.<br /><br /><br /><br />caebrwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233902574832152764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-9531357260889872222012-09-10T11:29:34.848+01:002012-09-10T11:29:34.848+01:00Just how serious do things have to become before C...Just how serious do things have to become before Carl Sargeant grows some. The buck stops with him when there are such serious concerns in Carmarthenshire.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-79341013041154401012012-09-10T10:24:25.159+01:002012-09-10T10:24:25.159+01:00Robert Lloyd makes a fair point, but if the pressu...Robert Lloyd makes a fair point, but if the pressure is coming from a combination of the newspaper's owners and the council, as seems to be the case, he faces a very lonely struggle.<br /><br />If the new editor wants to change things, this attempt to force the matter out into the open might actually help him.Cneifiwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767078276794410524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-35511173761325978412012-09-10T10:08:46.907+01:002012-09-10T10:08:46.907+01:00Jacqui - think you may want to give the new man at...Jacqui - think you may want to give the new man at the helm of the Journal a little time first. He's only been in the job a few weeks. Give him time to get his feet under the table . . . just a thought.Robert Lloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05600064382648217707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-22950287077992785982012-09-09T18:47:29.145+01:002012-09-09T18:47:29.145+01:00Excellent letter. Well doneExcellent letter. Well doneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-13351729180415282342012-09-08T22:18:42.727+01:002012-09-08T22:18:42.727+01:00@Anon 22.00
That maybe so but the local authority ...@Anon 22.00<br />That maybe so but the local authority needs to be brought to account when it oversteps the mark. I believe the Minister for Local Government, Carl Sargeant is the man for that. We're waiting Mr Sargeant....and waiting...caebrwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233902574832152764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-89546418972597690232012-09-08T22:00:44.368+01:002012-09-08T22:00:44.368+01:00Anon 18:55 to Paul Price - Fair comment and I agre...Anon 18:55 to Paul Price - Fair comment and I agree with your views but I think it is the Carmarthen Journal that needs convincing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-35346863929776211132012-09-08T21:28:19.598+01:002012-09-08T21:28:19.598+01:00Yes and I should add for those without local knowl...Yes and I should add for those without local knowledge. When ones sees news reports say in the Swansea based Evening Post or South Wales Online 99 times out of a hundred any local stories - that is Ammanford in the east to Whitland in the west to Llandysul in the north - are sourced from the Journal. And dare I whisper the word "corruption" here with regards to the ongoing non existent yet fully funded bowling alley fiasco? I will leave that hang with rhetoric. Paul Pricenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-70558226366654217942012-09-08T21:18:30.164+01:002012-09-08T21:18:30.164+01:00@Paul Price
Exactly, if you discount the handful o...@Paul Price<br />Exactly, if you discount the handful of blogs, the main source of news is the local paper. There is no other. If the single source is dominated by a local authority determined, it would seem, to wield editorial control then this goes to the very heart of local democracy.caebrwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233902574832152764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-12572135024427224712012-09-08T21:08:15.103+01:002012-09-08T21:08:15.103+01:00@Anon 19.04
You misunderstand, I like the paper an...@Anon 19.04<br />You misunderstand, I like the paper and have bought it for years, that's why I care. What concerns me is the failure to report major stories concerning the council, and the evidence is strong that this is due to disgraceful bullying tactics from our PR obsessed local authority.<br />caebrwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233902574832152764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-51038112400334952492012-09-08T20:54:37.531+01:002012-09-08T20:54:37.531+01:00I disagree with both of the above comments. On a ...I disagree with both of the above comments. On a local level there's no other choice of weekly news. This is reason enough to expect a balanced and non partisan output of news. Granted bigger stories like that of the whistleblower will make it into wider sources but surely then its bizarre for it not to be covered by the local paper? If its big enough an issue for national press to cover the story, then why the hell is it being kept out of the Journal? This isn't like choosing between a certain red top or broadsheet. This is more an issue of local democracy being eroded and manipulated. Boycotting the paper on principal or merely choosing another news source isn't the answer. Granted spin happens in the news all the damn time. And one will find news reports on CH4 that don't see the light of day on the BBC and vice versa. However to only have one news source to choose from? Come on! Paul Pricenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-25355257583636252772012-09-08T19:04:38.475+01:002012-09-08T19:04:38.475+01:00A newspaper has no obligation to be impartial or b...A newspaper has no obligation to be impartial or balanced.<br /><br />If you don't like it, don't buy it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-64469719586750934762012-09-08T18:55:32.626+01:002012-09-08T18:55:32.626+01:00Eloquently put Jacqui! Perhaps readers of the Carm...Eloquently put Jacqui! Perhaps readers of the Carmarthen Journal should do what I did and take their custom elsewhere. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com