Yorkshire Evening Post

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Misc
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue 05 Aug, 2008 6:22 am

Post by Misc »

Is it just me or is it getting worse? They keep printing the same letters two nights running and as for their "columnist" Debbie Leigh...let's just say she's the main reason I'm cancelling my sub.On the subject of the letters page, are there really only four crazy old people in the whole city who write in? I'm tempted to send in any old pap to see if they print it but I don't want to give my name and address

dogduke
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Joined: Thu 03 Jan, 2008 6:47 am

Post by dogduke »

They should be prosecuted under the trades descriptions act.How on earth can an EVENING paper be arriving at my local shop between 10 and 1030 AM!The letters pages monopolised as you say by a small number of people.The reporting is atrocious,streets are described as been in the wrong district,the grammar is often appaling.My favourite/worstexample is of a road accident where the car SPAN off the road.Reporters should read through their copy before saving for publication.Jobs must have been lost locally as it is printed somewhere in South Yorkshire.If it is printed and distributed to arrive at the time it does,what time do they PUT IT TO BED-about 5am?
Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.90% of being smart is knowing what you're dumb at.

Newsman
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri 24 Jul, 2009 10:10 am

Post by Newsman »

All - I thought I'd leap at this point because I work for a newspaper not far from the YEP. Not far at all.You're absolutely right, it is going downhill. The chief reason being it's parent company, Johnston Press, being savagely hit by the recession due to huge debts taken out to buy around 50% of the UK and Ireland's regional newspapers. The inevitable downside of the above is, you guessed it, job cuts. And lots of them. And when you cut jobs, especially reporting jobs, the journalists have less time to produce more stuff leading to a situation whereby "investigative" journalism is lax (no time to devote to leaving the office) and reliance on low quality press releases to fill space is higher. All of which leads to a downturn in quality. It's chicken and egg on that score - cut staff and lose quality. Keep staff and lose money. The critical problem will come when enough readers leave the paper because of quality problems and advertisers notice the dwindling figures and also leave OR demand smaller advertising invoices. Then the paper will die.To the time issue - all pages except page one and the back page are, believe it or not, done the night BEFORE publication except if a HUGE news story breaks. This is a mandate from above, Johnston Press in Scotland level. Look - the newspaper industry is currently being run by money men, not news men. Money men have no knowledge nor real interest in journalism or what the reader wants. They care about cutting costs, something they have done in huge numbers at the YEP / YP over the past 12 months. Virtually all Johnston Press's "north division" (covering papers from Sunderland in the north to Sheffield in the south) departments have been ,, or will soon , be ecentralised. Meaning for every 10 jobs in one department today, there'll be 3 tomorrow. I can think of four KEY depts that this has happened to so far. So there is BOUND to be a drop in quality. It's sadly unavoidable. I absolutely HATE the way JP are single handedly destroying the Yorks Eve Post and I REALLY wish they'd invest in reporters, in sub editors, in photographers, in designers - in people who three years ago hadn't been laid off - but they won't. And until they do you won't see a rise in quality.And yes, the YEP is printed in South Yorks. DInnington to be precise. So that's press hall jobs gone too.So please don't be too hard on the threadbare lads n lasses left who REALLY are doing all they can in the face of huge pressures and uncertainty to put out a good newspaper.Cheers one and all.Newsman.

Newsman
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Joined: Fri 24 Jul, 2009 10:10 am

Post by Newsman »

woops, double post! Ignore this 'un.    

Cardiarms
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Joined: Tue 21 Oct, 2008 8:30 am

Post by Cardiarms »

Did you prepare that the night before?Thanks for the info, it can't be a great place to work at the moment.

Johnny39
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Joined: Mon 11 Jun, 2007 3:54 pm

Post by Johnny39 »

Certainly changed since it was part of the Conservative Newspapers Group - they were good days, and I'm not being political.
Daft I call it - What's for tea Ma?

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chameleon
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Post by chameleon »

Quite aside from 'old news' I really get cross when an informed reporter writes with purported authority but so frequently demonstrates an extreme ignorance of the subject matter either, as recorded fact or simple technical incorrectness!And let's not forget the feeble attempts to stir up opinions which might not even exist by shifting the emphasis from the reality to a small point which reaches emotions and is often well out of proportion if not context.Not forgetting the perceived if not implicit plagiarism from uncredited sources from time to timeStopped giving them my money when I didn't need paper for packaging any more - sorry EP, but that's how it seems to be.

raveydavey
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Post by raveydavey »

The standard has dropped alarmingly, but I guess the YEP will remain safe as their is simply no competition in Leeds for them.I work in Halifax, a couple of streets away from the offices of the Halifax Evening Courier which is another of the Johnstone Press's stable. There too the printing operation has been closed (despite recent new machinery being installed not long before the purchase) and shipped out, with their papers delivered to Halifax from Leeds, often by YEP liveried vans.Back to the YEP, it's so annoying to read what are clearly just press releases, often repeated verbatim without any attempt to verify the claims contained within. The Sports section is a joke and the letters page is dominated by a handful of people with their own agenda, or repeated pointless ramblings. Except on the odd occassion I write in, when you get a witty, insightful and concise piece on the chosen subject And don't get me started on the appalling spelling and punctuation...
Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act – George Orwell

Cardiarms
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Post by Cardiarms »

Shall we seize the letters page?

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chameleon
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Post by chameleon »

Cardiarms wrote: Shall we seize the letters page? But, would they understand wot we rote?

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