The Demise of The Brighton Argus

[studio150]

Stopped buying some years ago, when they jumped the price up by more than the odd few pence and decided the equation between cost and reading time and enjoyment didn't make sense.

If the Argus wants to continue, should it change to the Standard and Metro business model and become a free paper to boost readership and therefore increase advertising revenue.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

I had reasonably high hopes of the Argus when the new editor took over, and the design has certainly improved (although the improvements are largely copied from the B&H Indy).

But today's front page is such a basic journalistic howler that you just despair.

They'd obviously decided well in advance what their lead was going to be and couldn't make the obvious decision to change it when a major news story that attracted national attention happened on what used to be their own doorstep.

I also disliked the coverage of the West Sussex County Council story they ran recently. The headlines and placards - rather disingenuously, I thought - screamed "Council", rather than "WSCC" or "County Council," which would naturally lead many to assume that the errant body was Brighton & Hove City Council. But then I suppose the subs in Weymouth probably have no idea that Brighton isn't in West Sussex anyway.

 

[Nibble]

All papers have gone down the dunny.

 

[Pevenseagull]

An ex-colleague of mine moved to the Nottingham Evening Post last year. There's a publication that serves a city with a similar sized population (Nottingham's a bit larger but not excessively so) and is doing well. Its circulation is more than twice the Argus's, so it's not necessarily the case that local newspapers are dead.

They've got twice as many professional football teams and a far better cricket team.

 

[spring hall convert]

My family have taken a copy of The Argus every day that I can remember, at least back to the early 70's. I remember my aunt studiously checking the death notices every evening, occasionally proclaiming ''Ooh, Mrs Soandso from number 22 has lost her husband' etc etc.. It really was the best source of local news, better than Radio Brighton as it did not have to cram both the notional and local stuff into a 7 minute slot. And Albion coverage was excellent with the eloquent John Vinicombe writing the prose.

OK, move forward 40 odd years and the world has changed. Printed media is no longer get king, even TV news is thought too slow and awkward by many favouring the interweb. Westminster Press have long dropped the 'Brighton' bit from The Argus, then moved the printing to Southampton (very local), and latterly to Weymouth in Dorset, our local rag could hardly be more detached from its' true home. Many will point to the ease of communication in the modern world, the immediacy of email, the instantaneous access to the web, I now take The Argus by subscription as it costs just £30 per year but spend zero in my local newsagent now as a result. But maybe distance will kill the newspaper......

The bus crash in Brighton yesterday made national news, BBC, Sky etc, even the Liverpool Echo ran the story! So this mornings Argus would be rammed with the story I thought, just how many pages I wondered, 5, 7 or more perhaps, and a centre pages feature? A real story for the local journals to get their teeth into you would think.

The result? No screaming headlines, not even the major story on the front page, just a small column and a photo on the edge of page. This story of injury and disruption does not even make the next six pages, you finally find it on page 8, mind you it is the whole page. Maybe it is time to put the Argus to bed........

It's basically because journalism has now reduced itself to regurgitating press releases and scouring twitter. It's cheap.

 

[Bozza]

I had reasonably high hopes of the Argus when the new editor took over, and the design has certainly improved (although the improvements are largely copied from the B&H Indy).

But today's front page is such a basic journalistic howler that you just despair.

They'd obviously decided well in advance what their lead was going to be and couldn't make the obvious decision to change it when a major news story that attracted national attention happened on what used to be their own doorstep.

Is that really what it would be?

I don't have the paper so I don't know what made the front page, but I was being charitable and had assumed that, maybe, news ages so much faster in the modern day that something that happened yesterday morning might be considered a bit 'old' and a more recent story had trumped it for the front page.

If it is as you say then that's pretty poor.

 

[Pevenseagull]

An ex-colleague of mine moved to the Nottingham Evening Post last year. There's a publication that serves a city with a similar sized population (Nottingham's a bit larger but not excessively so) and is doing well. Its circulation is more than twice the Argus's, so it's not necessarily the case that local newspapers are dead.

there's still a place for a quality local paper. I'm just not sure that 85p a day for the Argus counts as money well spent.

I would be surprised if the average age of people considering this this isn't at least 45. Unless the Argus really ups its game it's nostalgia ..... and nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

 

[Pevenseagull]

ARGUS!!! YOU'VE LOST THE NEWS!!!!

 

[Triggaaar]

Maybe it is time to put the Argus to bed........

Is that a quote from last century?

 

[symyjym]

Personally I like nearly everything that Brian Owen writes, and some of Naylor's output too. Naylor does seem to have a very low opinion of any comments on the internet, and from NSC in particular, without ever mentioning the site by name, which comes across as a bit petty.

I know that many have a loathing of Naylor because he supports Stoke, but not bothered by that myself.

Mind you there is a bit of a rivalry. Last week when Naylor said that there would be news of a new player (Bong) at 7pm. At 6:59 the news was posted on here by eager fingers to get there first

 

[ROSM]

I had reasonably high hopes of the Argus when the new editor took over, and the design has certainly improved (although the improvements are largely copied from the B&H Indy).

But today's front page is such a basic journalistic howler that you just despair.

They'd obviously decided well in advance what their lead was going to be and couldn't make the obvious decision to change it when a major news story that attracted national attention happened on what used to be their own doorstep.

I also disliked the coverage of the West Sussex County Council story they ran recently. The headlines and placards - rather disingenuously, I thought - screamed "Council", rather than "WSCC" or "County Council," which would naturally lead many to assume that the errant body was Brighton & Hove City Council. But then I suppose the subs in Weymouth probably have no idea that Brighton isn't in West Sussex anyway.

The wscc one was laughable. One of the main accusations which was their headline was never actually made, either in the audit report or in any subsequent quote.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Is that really what it would be?

I don't have the paper so I don't know what made the front page, but I was being charitable and had assumed that, maybe, news ages so much faster in the modern day that something that happened yesterday morning might be considered a bit 'old' and a more recent story had trumped it for the front page.

If it is as you say then that's pretty poor.

I have to say that I agree with NAN, decision taken to run with an existing story even though this incident occured just after rush hour. Lack of local journo's and/or the decision maker believed their story to be more important, wrongly.

 

[chaileyjem]

I agree re: comments about the front page. Odd decision for a story that went national and was a big talking point as @notandynaylor says

Howver i thought the live coverage online was impressive and lasted throughout the day as the story unfolded.
http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/13372177.Bus_crashes_into_another_bus_in_Brighton/

 

[chaileyjem]

Also interesting, on the local paper front, that Johnston Press , rival to Newsquest (the parent owners of The Argus and the free Leaders) have just done the deal to buy the Brighton and Hove Independent freesheet.
http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2015/news/johnston-press-buys-four-year-old-weekly-freesheet/

 

[The Oldman]

I agree re: comments about the front page. Odd decision for a story that went national and was a big talking point as @notandynaylor says

However i thought the live coverage online was impressive and lasted throughout the day as the story unfolded.
http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/13372177.Bus_crashes_into_another_bus_in_Brighton/

But where was their reporter on the scene? All they did was repost from the social media. Even BBC Sussex managed to get a reporter and camera there soon after the incident.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Not bought a copy since they thought it clever to give equal weighting to 50 Falmer residents v 30,000 Albion fans in the Amex build dispute
Bite the hand that feeds you....

 

[chaileyjem]

But where was their reporter on the scene?

Their reporter on the scene; Adrian Imms is quoted in the blog and his photos are used at various points.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Well its not really the "Brighton" Argus any more is it? As I understand it all the editorial stuff is done in Southampton so Im surprised we don't get the odd Saints report in there tbh!!!

I've never thought of it as Brighton Argus. It was always the Evening Argus, which was for local news, including Portslade where I grew up. Even when it dropped the 'Evening' description, it wasn't solely Brighton news.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

In those days we had John Vinnicombe - a nasty drunk whose reporting too often reflected his addiction but a character nonetheless. Now bland is all that is permitted and sadly but inevitably it's reflected in their relationship with the club.

Is it any wonder he took to the bottle watching general mediocrity for years, interspersed with the occasional promotion and short sojourn in the top flight.
At school, we hung on his every word and classics such as..." Napier's shoulders drooped in despair as he scooped a simple chance over the bar from three yards out "....and....." Dawson ploughing through the mud like a runaway train "...and...." Ward made it look easy, like taking candy off a baby "....always stayed with us. Yes, he had his faults but we knew no different and he had us readers in the palm of his hand.

 

[severnside gull]

Is it any wonder he took to the bottle watching general mediocrity for years, interspersed with the occasional promotion and short sojourn in the top flight.
At school, we hung on his every word and classics such as..." Napier's shoulders drooped in despair as he scooped a simple chance over the bar from three yards out "....and....." Dawson ploughing through the mud like a runaway train "...and...." Ward made it look easy, like taking candy off a baby "....always stayed with us. Yes, he had his faults but we knew no different and he had us readers in the palm of his hand.

Could not have offered better examples


Edit: having said that I presume it would have been John Napier missing an open goal........ In my memory Kit NEVER did