COUNCIL STORY WRITTEN BY PR

By Phil Supplements

THIRD-rate coverage in Penrith this week of the unpopular decision by Wokemoreland & Farcical Council to hike Council Tax by 4.99%.

Local weakly snoozepaper, The Slumberland & Westmoreland Imperilled, basically welded together two official Council press releases/statements and used them to fill a massive hole on Page 2 of this week’s edition.

There was very little journalism involved, and no analysis or context.

Instead, the paper’s so-called news item was 600 words written by the Council!

SIX paragraphs went to a shadowy and unnamed Council-employed Spinner and the remaining NINE pars to the Council’s Lib Dem dictatorship defending the increase!

Nor did the Imperilled seek any alternative view to the Council budget from opposition Conservatives, Labour, or the Independents.

You can’t really call this news, it’s free Advertorial.

For a fuller picture of matters, you had to turn to hyper local news website, Penrith Town.

In no time at all it’s quickly become the only journalistic show in town when it comes to shining a torch into the nethermost crevices of Wokemoreland & Farcical Council.

Surprise, surprise, Penrith Town reports that not every Councillor on W&F is thrilled about the 4.99% rise.

Nor are they happy that 69% of the public taking part in the Council’s budget consultation voted down a tax rise; (another fact that appears to have eluded tame hacks on the Imperilled.)

Unlike the Imperilled, Penrith Town also managed to send a reporter to the Council’s budget-setting meeting to cover ALL sides of the story rather than just re-publishing handouts from the Council’s over-paid image guardians.

You can read the full story at the Penrith Town website.

And here’s the Cumbria Chronic’s unsanitised public reaction to the Council’s tax grab.