Daily Post and North Wales Weekly News

[Quiggs]

Further comment is unneccesary   

[Craigydonian]

You and I know, Wrex, - that would just be too easy!   WWW

I don't normally respond to comments on blogs, but can't let such an erroneous comment to go unanswered.
Each week the Weekly News carries at the very least between five and six Llandudno stories of over 300, words and many other shorter newsfile pieces. However it must be remembered that the general edition of the paper doesn't just cover Llandudno, it also gives coverage to Deganwy, Conwy, Llandudno Junction, Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan and each of those areas has a right to page space.
I notice in previous postings that the paper has been accused of ignoring the Victorian Extravaganza and this is also inaccurate. The Weekly News has always covered the event, and invariably it is given pre-publicity and a picture spread.
Stories have to be based on hard fact, not rumour, speculation, or supposition and if a story meets the necessary critierion it will not be ignored.

[DaveR]

Welcome to the Forum, Craigydonian. 

[Pendragon]

I've said it before and I'll say it again the NWWN is completely bias towards the Police and the Council.  I only buy the paper when a local history piece has been submitted by my Gt Aunty Lorna from Penmaenmawr or a particular topic takes my interest (which is a rarity) 

[wrex]

  Sorry to disagree Craigydonian but the papers coverage of news for this town is abysmal and the Thursday before this years extravaganza there was no coverage whatsoever. :rage:

[Craigydonian]

It looks as though we'll have to agree to disagree.   

[Yorkie]

I think that over all the NWWN is abysmal.  The coverage of local events is mainly by pictures.   The coverage over more serious news is pathetic.  Overall the Advertising to Editorial ratio is unfair to both the Advertiser and the Reader.  So much advertising that they don't get read because the readers are searching for the news and just page skip.   And with so much advertising there is Little room for local news.  If I were in business, unless I could have the front "ears" I would never advertise in it!   

The best section is definitely the Obits and the sooner we see the Obit for the NWWN the better!   WWW

[Parry]

Yorkie, advertising is the lifeline for newspapers in the UK. I was speaking to a landscape gardener from Colwyn Bay yesterday who said he has seen a sharp rise in customers after advertising in the NWWN recently. I don't think the adverts are overread. If our hard news stories are pathetic  then please share some examples.

 

[Yorkie]

Parry - What I have expressed is an opinion which is my opinion.  Thank goodness we don't all agree!   

I am not saying that advertising doesn't pay, when it is in the correct media it does.   In the 1980's I had an advertising budget of £500K  and I had to make sure it paid.  But as a Reader of the NWWN I want better value for my 77 pence than I am getting at the moment.   
:rage:

I get all the adverts I want on TV and in the Pioneer, plus many recommendations from this and other Forums!   
££$

[Fester]

My belief is that the NWWN is less of a newspaper,and more of a local interest magazine.

But, this is borne out of two direct pressures, one good the other not so good.

1, On the good side, I hail from a city where the first 20 pages of the DAILY (not weekly) paper is packed with murders, rapes and heinous crimes of all sorts.  The North Wales Coast is much more sedate, I am thankful for it, and it means there is less real news to report.

2, I think the NWWN is chronically under funded, which is WHY, (as Yorkie says) the ratio of adverts to 'news' is so out of kilter.
The adverts are necessary to keep the paper in circulation, and perpetuate the small amount of news coverage by keeping too few journalists employed.

[DaveR]

I always enjoy reading the Weekly News (and have done for 30 years) but think it's certainly fair to say that it looks as though the budgets have been cut significantly since it was taken over by Trinity in 1988. Example of this - you often see the same story that appeared in the Daily Post a couple of days earlier, pretty much word for word, and you also see the odd story from outside the area that looks as though it was added to fill in a blank space.

This link has some interesting statistical information about the Weekly News and a breakdown of its circulation:
http://www.nsdatabase.co.uk/newspaperdetail.cfm?paperid=751

[Merddin Emrys]

Dave, if you remember I found that old August 18th 1977 copy of the Weekley News under our bathroom carpet and it was a broadsheet back then and very interesting too.  Headline news 'Help for people stranded by bridge'  ( to do with Tal -y-Cafn bridge) It's fragile but still readable!

[Trojan]

On the good side, I hail from a city where the first 20 pages of the DAILY (not weekly) paper is packed with murders, rapes and heinous crimes of all sorts.  The North Wales Coast is much more sedate, I am thankful for it, and it means there is less real news to report.

Exactly my thoughts. Sometimes no news is good news.  Z@@ But if there's no news to report, it can't be reported.

What kind of news are people actually seeking?

Take Conwy County for example. Of all the six Unitary Authority areas, Conwy has the lowest proportion of people aged
16 and under (17%), the lowest proportion of people of working age (60%) and the
highest proportion of people aged 65 and over (23%).

With figures like that, one can see why there's not much news happening.

http://www.wedhs.org.uk/pdf/pub/nwales_regional.pdf

[DaveR]

There may not be that much actual news in terms of man murdered in pub or similar, but there is certainly a lot that could be covered that isn't - too often, a story consists of a rehashed press release or council report rather than any real journalism.

Let's take the Pier Pavilion site, for example. I hear people in town complaining about it constantly - yet the NWWN has never really done a proper feature on it. It was I that did the digging at the Land Registry to find out who the real owner was, something that the NWWN should have done and they could maybe even tracked him down or just phoned him to ask him what his plans are for the site etc etc and put his side of the story across?

[Trojan]

There may not be that much actual news in terms of man murdered in pub or similar, but there is certainly a lot that could be covered that isn't - too often, a story consists of a rehashed press release or council report rather than any real journalism.

Let's take the Pier Pavilion site, for example. I hear people in town complaining about it constantly - yet the NWWN has never really done a proper feature on it. It was I that did the digging at the Land Registry to find out who the real owner was, something that the NWWN should have done and they could maybe even tracked him down or just phoned him to ask him what his plans are for the site etc etc and put his side of the story across?

Good point.

Reporters reading this forum take note!

The more publicity and pressure on the site's owner to do something the better.