From the Hold The Front Page website. Can't help but agree with Chris about the state of the industry.
https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2022 ... reer-ends/

The original Twitter thread was discussed on here at the time, I think it was before the Wigan match.

I totally agree with him

Ironically this isn't breaking news, as most of Burnley already knows about it already....

Basically crying because he didn’t get any inside information from his mates.

Maybe it’s best having owners taking full control over their communication to supporters from now on with no local journalists to hold them to account. Then again, you could just grab Alan at the self serve checkout at Tesco if you have any insights to what’s happening at the club. It’s just as good.

Is anyone worried that NHS Trusts are now hiring their own PR and Communications Specialists? How do PR staff help get the waiting lists down?

Different era. Clubs can access and control far more media channels themselves directly.

Does anyone get news from the local rag any more? They’ve been absolutely awful for years now.

Paul Waine wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 3:56 pm

Is anyone worried that NHS Trusts are now hiring their own PR and Communications Specialists? How do PR staff help get the waiting lists down?

Public sector organisations having their own comms specialists is not a new thing.

Social media has created new opportunities for communications between sports clubs and their members and fans, ditto businesses or all sizes. Most of the national newspapers have been cutting their cloth accordingly for many years, i.e. reducing the numbers of journalists they employ. It's no surprise the same is impacting on local media outlets.

RicardoMontalban wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 3:59 pm

Public sector organisations having their own comms specialists is not a new thing.

NHS Trusts having their own PR staff? How long has that been going on?

Paul Waine wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 3:56 pm

Is anyone worried that NHS Trusts are now hiring their own PR and Communications Specialists? How do PR staff help get the waiting lists down?

Part of it is improving communication with the local population, which, tbf, was generally ignored historically. I've worked with the hospital communication teams recently to send health promotion messages out into the reaches of the population we serve

Roosterbooster wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 4:13 pm

Part of it is improving communication with the local population, which, tbf, was generally ignored historically. I've worked with the hospital communication teams recently to send health promotion messages out into the reaches of the population we serve

Thanks. That sounds like a good thing to be doing.

Paul Waine wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 3:56 pm

Is anyone worried that NHS Trusts are now hiring their own PR and Communications Specialists? How do PR staff help get the waiting lists down?

Anything which takes money away from patient care is money well spent, as far as the Tories are concerned.

Paul Waine wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 4:12 pm

NHS Trusts having their own PR staff? How long has that been going on?

These are enormous organisations, of course they do. Would you rather the public relations and comms function was managed by someone with a background in that, or the midwifery team did on a rota system?

I’ve worked in local government for 15 years and there’s always been a comms team, and it wasn’t a new thing when i started. Indeed some have been former journalists.

Paul Waine wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 3:56 pm

Is anyone worried that NHS Trusts are now hiring their own PR and Communications Specialists? How do PR staff help get the waiting lists down?

Now? The NHS has been too heavy with administration staff for at least twenty years, and with the litigation increasing it is also it is hardly surprising. Local journalism is a luxury, and for most places is no longer the reality; the Rossendale Free Press moved from the Valley to Rochdale, again about twenty years ago (and is probably further removed now). Most ‘local’ journalists are now freelance reporters who send in their work to local papers in the hope of getting their stories picked up (to get paid).

I don’t blame Boden one bit, its a shrinking pool and the NHS is always going to need good PR consultants.

Paul Waine wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 4:15 pm

Thanks. That sounds like a good thing to be doing.

Sounds more like Jobs for the boys

Lets hope Moggy gets a grip and kicks them down the road

If the Express was the paper it was 20 years ago, then he may have a point, but it's a sad imitation at this point and so it is no surprise Pace et al don't rate it. I dare say, were it the Express of the late 90s / early 2000s, Boden might not be switching careers.

Added to the coverage of the takeover by the national press, and i can't be surprised that they aren't exactly desperate to give them stories which they can communicate via the clubs own channels just as easily.

If Burnley Express wish to attend, then the club should certainly have them on board.

You cannot spout one club, one town etc and then not invite the town's own newspaper!

This will eventually aliemate passive support, who are there to be encouraged and kept informed.

Taffy on the wing wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 4:15 pm

Anything which takes money away from patient care is money well spent, as far as the Tories are concerned.

Read it back and have a think.

NHS foundation trusts are massive organisations, their annual budgets are larger than the revenues of some companies in the FTSE 100 with a responsibility towards populations of 100s of thousands. They are frequently in the news and often in very difficult circumstances. It shouldn't be at all surprising that they have people in employment to advise on communications.

Taffy on the wing wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 4:15 pm

Anything which takes money away from patient care is money well spent, as far as the Tories are concerned.

That's right. Labour on the other hand get rid of all the bureaucracy and spend, spend, spend on front line staff every time they get a crack at it.

For balance, like.

In the late 2000s East Lancashire Primary Care Trust employed a former BBC journalist and a strong communications team. A lot of the effort in my opinion was to differentiate the Trust and those who ran it from the Hospital Trust which was under the spotlight in a not nice way.

summitclaret wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 6:29 pm

Read it back and have a think.

You depress me.

bobinho wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 06, 2022 6:51 pm

That's right. Labour on the other hand get rid of all the bureaucracy and spend, spend, spend on front line staff every time they get a crack at it.

For balance, like.

You depress me too!

I think Pace was spot on. For as long as I can remember the Burnley Express has been seen almost as a joke production. People don’t get their news about BFC from there and haven’t done for over 20 years.

The nail in the coffin was the takeover. The biggest off-field story in years about the Club. The Afhletic were running detailed background stories about ALK Capital before the Express had a clue what was going on. They blew it big time. Every other news agency seemed to have info except the Burnley Express.

In this day and age of instant information the Burnley Express got left behind. So did the Lancashire Telegraph. Pace knows that - it’s precisely why he’s never bothered with them.

The problem we have is we can't be the big club we want to be without stopping being a small club.

The mass exit off staff looks worse as its in one go, if our changes had been done when needed it would have all been gradual and less dramatic. It would have also accounted for teething problems a little better too.

We all want investment, but the investment won't come until we are attractive to do so, that's why tweets from personal accounts, leaks to local journos/message boards and having a traditional feel to the ground all had to stop. It's certainly not as "community" but that's not what is going to get us to have a sustainable future at the top table

Bangers&Mash wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 07, 2022 6:52 am

The problem we have is we can't be the big club we want to be without stopping being a small club.

The mass exit off staff looks worse as its in one go, if our changes had been done when needed it would have all been gradual and less dramatic. It would have also accounted for teething problems a little better too.

We all want investment, but the investment won't come until we are attractive to do so, that's why tweets from personal accounts, leaks to local journos/message boards and having a traditional feel to the ground all had to stop. It's certainly not as "community" but that's not what is going to get us to have a sustainable future at the top table

I was happy with the club living within it's means and spending what it earned.

Sadly now we have some chancers who have taken 113m pounds out of the club, used the 42m parachute payment to pay back loans (according to Kompany) and sold 100m worth of talent whilst spending around 25m.

I would avoid questions from the media as well.

Chris always annoyed me when he moaning on twitter travelling home from away games about traffic, road closures, or diversions, I think he forgot there were others fans travelling back, who weren't being paid for it, or fuel paid for, and meals on expenses

Quickenthetempo wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 07, 2022 9:34 am

I was happy with the club living within it's means and spending what it earned.

Sadly now we have some chancers who have taken 113m pounds out of the club, used the 42m parachute payment to pay back loans (according to Kompany) and sold 100m worth of talent whilst spending around 25m.

I would avoid questions from the media as well.

That's just the conundrum though, isn't it? Garlick and co stopped spending money it was earning, instead protecting the cash in the bank to make a sale more attractive. There was likely over 50m in the bank in the summer we spent 750k on Dale Stephens. Let that sink in for a second.

RVclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 07, 2022 10:08 am

That's just the conundrum though, isn't it? Garlick and co stopped spending money it was earning, instead protecting the cash in the bank to make a sale more attractive. There was likely over 50m in the bank in the summer we spent 750k on Dale Stephens. Let that sink in for a second.

Yeah, Garlick had lost faith in Dyche's signings, as had I.

In hindsight, he should have potted Dyche earlier when they weren't speaking, instead of buying players himself.

He must have thought Dyche being there made the club more attractive to buy?

Good post tempo utc

The " Burnley Express " was owned by Johnston Press, who operated well over 200 local newspaper titles, as well as " The Scotsman " and " The i ". In 2018, with the Company valued at £3m and debts of over £200m, it placed itself into administration. It was bought by a " special purpose vehicle " Company, JPI Media, formed by its creditors, to keep the titles trading.

The rounds of cost cutting have been going on for years. The " Burnley Express " offices on Bull Street, were closed in 2013, and are now a vape shop and well-appointed flats. The " Clitheroe Advertiser " offices on King Street, Clitheroe were vacated a year later, and the " Nelson Leader " office on Scotland Road went years ago. All of the local titles are operated from a small suite of offices on Empire Business Park on Liverpool Road.

The " letters " page, once a source of local debate, now only has the occasional local imput, with many letters being copied and pasted from people writing to the " Yorkshire Post " and " Lancashire Evening Post " , with their address being " via E-mail ". Most of the remainder come from round-robin charity letters, signed by a celebrity promoting some charitable cause or other.

As for their website, it's shockingly bad, with multiple pop-ups, and links to non-local stories ...

The last place i would think of looking if i wanted news on the local area or indeed the football club are the websites of the Burnley Express or Lancashire Telegraph. The quality of writing is appalling at times, others it is just very poor. Full of pop ups, click bait and non-local stories. Local media and journalism is dying a slow, painful death.