CRUMBRIA: 22.3.2026
THE new mosque being built in Dalton-in-Furness continues to spark the occasional difference of opinion.
Imagine two groups on opposite sides of a road, shouting at each other over passing traffic, and police polishing their handcuffs.
Always hovering somewhere nearby and unsure of which angle to monetise first is former Barrow newspaper the Evening Snail — now put together from the safety of, er, Kendal.
Far too much output on the dying, if not dead local rag has been lumped onto the shoulders of impressionable journalistic juniors.
Most of the wise old grey cardigans, who would have once taken them under their wing, have long since left – victims of Scroogequest’s ceaseless “efficiency” purges.
All this has rather shown in the paper’s less-than-searching probes into the mosque “debate”.
The Snail’s coverage of the issue is nervously passed from young hack to young hack like pass the parcel with a stick of dynamite.
That means the paper’s approach has swung wildly between being a PR agency for the much-admired religion of peace, pushing thundering UKIP sermons, and reprinting foaming anti-fascist denunciations.
- A new brick goes on the mosque? Story✓
- A demonstrators’ meeting? Story✓
- A fresh denunciation from Tenconi? Story✓
- An arrest log from the police? Story✓
The Chronic is not the only person wondering whether fuelling the fire for clicks is entirely good sense for a subject as volatile as this.
Because recognising the difference between reporting a row and feeding one requires serious editorial judgement.
In these days of political rabies, that’s something that’s not been in plentiful supply at Scroogequest.
Not since managerial brainboxes decided to do away with quaint old-fashioned notions like having an editor directly responsible for each title and the community it covers.
Has the modern local-news business model reached the point where keeping a volatile row alive online carries its own small financial rewards for the piss poor pay packets of those toiling away in our newsrooms?
Perish the thought.
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