Labour MP attacks local paper for ignoring her press releases

Dawn Butler is raging with her local paper because, she alleges, they are ignoring positive stories about her, one of the favourite sources of media-politician tension. It seems she is cross they failed to mention her attendance at an awards ceremony and an event she hosted at the Commons. Diddums.

She has sent this fair'n'balanced letter to Tim Cole, Editor of the Willesden and Brent Times, copied to the Press Complaints Commission and Archant newspaper group. Smacks of desperation to me, but I've included it in full so you can make your own mind up, on this slow Thursday afternoon...

31st July2008

Tim,

RE: Bias coverage

Having read the Willesden and Brent Times today I felt the need to write to you to highlight the disproportionate reporting and bias of your reports. I do hope you print my letter in full or at least direct readers to the full letter at www.dawnbutlermp.com.

I am extremely disappointed at the current state of affairs at the W&B Times, where a paper valued by the public as a source of impartial information has allowed itself to become politicised and partial in its reporting.

The ignoring and lack of reporting by the W&B Times on events and stories that I as the local MP for Brent South have undertaken on behalf of my constituents in Brent can no longer be passed as circumstantial coincidences but only as a bias against me.

Over the last few months, the reporting has progressively worsened.  I think it began deteriorating when two grieving mothers asked you to remove two quotes which you assigned to them which were detrimental to me, misquoted and_untrue.

Your readers deserve to know that I send your paper on average, two to three press releases a week, and moreover attend several community events throughout the week where a member of your staff or a photographer for your paper are usually present, yet despite this, I hardly have a mentioning at all.

I find it very insulting to be continually omitted from your paper and consider it rather unjust to the community to be completely ignored in articles of events where I was present.  There are several events that I have attended recently in the community which the W&B Times has covered but where you have chosen not to mention my attendance. The most recent of these events was a visit to LEAP with Government Minister Stephen Timms MP where we celebrated the excellent services of the community based organisation.  Yet despite being present, my name and picture was omitted from the article.  Furthermore, you failed to mention my attendance and speech at an event at Gladstone Park with the Mayor and once again failed to include any picture of me with the group. 

Topical debates in Parliament and in the constituency which I organise and lead on are also not given equal coverage and this has happened on more than one occasion. Cont

Examples of this bias are numerous. For example, on July 21st I held a gun and knife conference in the Houses of Parliament. Not only was this conference on a topic of great interest and importance to the people of Brent, but it was also attended by numerous organisations and individuals from Brent, such as Not Another Drop-the local government’s anti-gun, gang and knife crime organisation . It also received messages of support from the Prime Minister and was attended by a high-level panel, including Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor of London with responsibility for policing and was covered in several nationwide newspapers.

When I forwarded the story to the paper on the Tuesday evening, it was not included in that week’s edition. A few days later in correspondence to one of my assistants, the News Editor stated that:

“Generally best to get stuff to us before Friday.Monday and Tuesday is usually spent chasing up incidents and final quotes for stories. Unfortunately, this will be too old for this week’s paper.”

I thought it sad at the time that something as high profile as this event (which received media coverage at a national level) did not make the paper (July 24) even though it would be of great interest to people in Brent. I also thought it odd, given that I had sent you prior notification of the event via a press release that it had received no mention. I was therefore surprised at the reasoning that it would be too old for the next edition, as the Parliamentary Recess began the following day (July 22) and there would be less political news over the summer period.

However, I was stunned to see in the next edition (July 31) a story on page 5 titled ‘MP puts gun/knife crime in the spotlight’. This reported that the Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East, had “used the final debate before summer recess to raise the area’s [Brent’s] critical problem of gun and knife crime”. Despite you running a previous article stating that she had failed to attend the Gun Crime debate in Parliament as it was a ‘waste of time’ and instead chose to attend a luncheon. 

Not only was this story arguably less newsworthy, both in content and action; an MP speaking for two minutes in a debate versus a London-wide public debate on finding solutions to gun and knife crime which I had organised.  The actual debate which you covered actually happened one day after the gun and knife crime summit that I was told was too old to put in the paper.

I am also concerned that when the W&B Times chooses to omit stories to events that I attend across the constituency- this also has an effect on the hardworking community groups that fail to get a mentioning. 

The most recent example of this would be the Phonix Positive Images Awards that took place in Wembley last Friday (well within your timescale) which was not reported in the paper this week.  Young people worked tirelessly to put on a great show and were so deserving of their awards.  If that was not reason enough to report the event, there was a heartfelt story of a young family who had to accept a posthumous award for a family member and yet you still failed to report it. What kind of message are you giving to your young readers-that young people cannot rely on the media to pay attention when they engage in positive activities? Or that young people cannot rely on you to cover debates on how to tackle the problems that they are so stereotyped to be involved in?

I fully understand that tight deadlines and editorial decisions mean that certain stories do not make the headlines. But such blatant partial reporting, as reported above is unacceptable. It is also unfair on the public who buy the Willesden and Brent Times in the good faith believing that it gives them the real and impartial take on news happening in Brent

I will be sending a copy of this letter to the Press Complaints Commission and to Archant and will be releasing it publicly too. I understand that by writing this letter that it will probably result in you printing even fewer stories of my hard work in Brent but to be frank I believe that the community needs to know the truth about just how biased the W&B Times is.

Yours sincerely,

Dawn Butler MP

Labour MP for Brent South

Comments

[Simon]

Awwwww

Don't you just love it when elected representatives spit out their dummies in quite such petulant ways?

[NJR]

I would not have guessed that a Member of Parliament would be willing to humiliate herself quite so comprehensively. I am only a lowly member of the public, but if I was capable of writing text as marred by grammatical solecisms and poor spelling as that I would certainly not want anyone to find out. Doesn't she have someone literate in her family she can employ to cover up this sort of thing? Every paragraph is a roadcrash, quite apart from the fact that the rambling, repetitive rant raises concerns about her mental state. She can't operate the language competently, yet somehow she is qualified to help determine the law of the land? Ye gods.

[In case examples are needed:
para 1: Bias for Biased
p2: the reporting ... of your reports
p3: Ah! An unsubstantiated claim, but no actual language mistakes.
p4: The ignoring.. by the Times.. on events... can no longer be passed.. Back on form then!
p5: and_untrue finishes a wholly illogical construction
p6: line 1, misplaced commas. Last line, I hardly have a mentioning at all.

I'll stop - it's fish in a barrel...

[Chuck Unsworth]

And next she'll be down to the Racial/Sexual Equalities game.

So, just because she's an MP the local rag should publish her personal publicity?

Excellent.

What an absolutely cretinous position to adopt. She hasn't even got the sense to get the editor on her side. What kind of a politician is she?

And why the hell does she think any journal or newspaper is obliged to publish an 'impartial take on news happening in Brent '?

Good Grief! First-class, Grade A, incompetence.

[Richard Holloway]

Poor her....

But I've no sympathy whatsoever, not for an MP that doesn't answer letters from her constituents.

I sent her a letter over six months ago. No response.

[Phil]

This is just hilarious! Are you sure it's not a spoof :-)

[Andy]

A dozen years ago, I was the news editor of that very same paper... and we treated the local politicians in exactly the same way, and they made exactly the same complaints. I'm proud and delighted to see the tradition is continuing!

[Matt W]

She should blog it all, the Hackneyed Gazette would steal all her stories !

[An Observer]

"Doesn't she have someone literate in her family she can employ to cover up this sort of thing?"

Funny you should say that NJR if you look at her website she employs her brother to answer letters. Judging from Richard's post he's not very good at it.

[JSL]

I think this is a reasonable letter. A local newspaper has a duty to report local MP activities, and its a shame they appear to hav a personal vendetta against the MP. I actually think she makes very valid points.

[Chuck Unsworth]

JSL

"A local newspaper has a duty to report local MP activities"

Complete and utter rubbish! Who says so? Where is it laid down in any statute, code of practice, guidelines or any printed material whatsoever that they are duty bound to do so? Newspapers have but one obligation and that is to make money for their proprietors. They're not some kind of social service are they? They are simply a commercial operation.

I really cannot believe the sheer unrelenting stupidity of some people.

And what's a 'personal' vendetta? Is it any different to any other form of vendetta, then?

Jesus wept!

[Scud]

Pram... toys out... throwing! Boo hoo, poor lil' baby!

I think perhaps that Ms Butler should be cuddled, winded, fed some milk and then placed back to sleep in her little cot, the same state of unconsciousness that her party seems to adopt to the real issues in this country on an almost daily basis.

If you can't grow up, then shut up!

[Nedla N Ibamaso]

It is outrageous that a poxy rag like the Willesden & Brent Times should so vindictively ignore the inconsequential bletherings of so illustrious a member as Diane Abbott - and especially after the outstanding effort she has put in over many years to secure her obscurity.

You should be ashamed Sir - and all who scribble with you!

[Simon]

Looks as though someone is scared of losing her seat to Sarah Teather under the new boundaries!

[Ann]

Petulant and illiterate: this woman is a metaphor for New Labour

[Praguetory]

'I think this is a reasonable letter. A local newspaper has a duty to report local MP activities, and its a shame they appear to hav a personal vendetta against the MP. I actually think she makes very valid points.'

hav = have
Its a shame = It's a shame

Is that you Dawn?

[Mad Max]

Nothing New about her Labouring the point?

[EPA]

I looked on the website to see the letter in full and could not find it - This must be a spoof - Is it April the first?

However I did find a picture of Dawn entitled Labour Party Members and Jesse Jackson
Dawn Butler MP, which seemed to include the disgraced Miranda Grell

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article2507836.ece

Perhaps this too will disappear!

[peter french]

One gets the the feeling after haveing the patience to read about half the letter that Dawn Butler is only concerned with her own personal publicity. Oh what a good girl am I! Get back to the Nursery, Dawn and grow up properly. Try to be like the rest of us.
Take your medicine and try a bit harder . How did you get to be an MP? Oh well perhaps its not that hard.

[Tony]

They also neglect to publish the press releases of the BNP. So why are the press releases of Dawn Butler any different?

[ani]

Dawn Butler is right to complain.
It’s not unknown for the editor of the local rag to take against the sitting MP and refuse to cover events/ activities or the work undertaken by that MP to the benefit of the constituents/constituency.
This lack of exposure may justifiably be interpreted by constituents; who have every right to be kept informed, that their MP is uninterested, uncaring or plain lazy, and not working in their interest.
The local paper is a vital tool for communicating what happens in the area, and is generally respected and believed to be fair in its reporting; which is not always the case.
Is anyone seriously suggesting that the local press; like the national, is not partisan in its reporting?

[Graham Eardley]

Are we not forgetting that Ms Butler's current seat of Brent South will be amalgamated into Brent Central and Brent North and that Ms Butler has been chosen by Labour to fight Brent Central.

Notwithstanding the above the Liberal Democrats have also chosen their candidate for the seat of Brent Central too, Sarah Teather whose Brent East constituency will also be amalgamated into Brent Central and perhaps the fact that she sits on the Lib Dems front bench and get far wider coverage than Ms Butler not to mention Labours poll rating maybe behind Ms Butlers fit of pique

[Jefferson]

Chuck U: "Newspapers have but one obligation and that is to make money for their proprietors. They're not some kind of social service are they? They are simply a commercial operation."

If that's the case, I'm in favour of nationalising the media! Of course the media have a responsibility to be fair and balanced. They have a right to make a profit but not at the expense of the public good and not by abusing the faith of their readership. I don't pick up a paper for its adverts. And I won't pick up a paper that lies to me or misleads me. But if I weren't at an event, how do I know my paper is misleading me?

The ideologues who conclude that politics is simply a show betray everyone in society. We need informed and fair reporting so we can properly debate and exercise our franchise. Otherwise we end up with terrible representation and ultimately a dysfunctional democracy.

[Ian]

What Ms Butler and a couple of commenters here obviously want is for the local paper to serve as her propaganda mouthpiece to help ensure her reelection. There is no mention in her letter or in their comments about giving fair coverage to ALL parties and candidates in the constituency. So we can dismiss their pretend concerns for the health of democracy (the fact that Jefferson would nationalise the media tells us exactly where he is coming from).

Chuck U is correct. In a free society, where it is open to anyone to start a commercial newspaper, an editor is obliged only to please his readership in order to stay in business and make a profit. Only he/she can decide if the readership would be bored to death by endless photographs and reports of a local MP's self-promoting activities and thus put off buying the paper. We all know that the Labour Party is capable of producing local newsletters, so let Ms Butler do so and try selling them on the streets in competition to the commercial newspaper that she is complaining about. In the (very likely) event that the newspaper wins the competition hands down then let her distribute her self-promotional newsletters free of charge using her own funds or those of the Labour Party. Neither the taxpayer nor the newspaper buyer should be forced to pay to read her (or, for that matter, any other politician's) propaganda.

[albert hall]

Would have taken a whole forest to print all of that story.

[david franks]

I I I I I ME ME ME ME I I I ME ME

.......... I ME ME I

can she not see how bad she looks ?

[david franks]

I I I I I ME ME ME ME I I I ME ME

.......... I ME ME I

can she not see how bad she looks ?

[Peter Hirsch]

Perhaps the reason why Dawn Butler's affairs are not published is because the Editor thinks they are of no interest to the public. If this letter is a valid indicator, he's right; and his readers have much to thank him for.

And that, in itself, is a public service.

Ms. Butler clearly is as underemployed to have the time to write so long and rambling a letter as she is undereducated, not to be able to write a concise one in clear, grammatical English.