Playing dumb

It occurs to us that one possible reason behind the falling circulation figures mentioned in the previous post could be the tendency of newspapers like the Beans on Toast to go off in the opposite direction to its readership when it comes to the more obvious priorities.

The first in a couple of examples afforded space in said publication is a bizarre report of how some anonymous non-entity posing as a 'health worker' objects to a local hospital employing additional consultants for an A&E department because it will cause an overspend(?) Somehow you can imagine an entirely different headline, not to mention reaction, if these posts were to be frozen.

And as if the spectacle of the community campaigning Post empathising with the bean-counters was not unsettling enough, the paper also thinks another newsworthy item is the local Labour angst over how the city’s social services department is £3.6 million over budget. Considering the earlier stories printed about overseas recruitments and the need for a greater focus on child protection, figuring out the eventual effect on council finances should be a no-brainer – even for the EP. Yet is anyone suggesting that the council should renege on its commitments and cut the amount? Er, no.

But credit where it's due. At least the Evening Post beat off our prediction that they would dutifully print official spin about a recent critical assessment on the council’s performance in advance of today's cabinet meeting. As it happens, they haven’t printed anything.