Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Steve Dyson on the Islington Gazette: 'Asylum seeking fishmonger knifes butcher to death' and that's just the splash... inside drugs, drunken rampage, guns, hammers and cat burglars



Ex-Birmingam Mail editor Steve Dyson on his blog reviewing the local press, hosted by HoldtheFrontPage,  takes a look at the Islington Gazette this week and likes its shock, horror hard news content.
He writes: "From the moment I spotted the Islington Gazette, I was excited by its direct, punchy, grisly stories and headlines.
"Page one on 14 January was a truly 'penny dreadful'-style piece of news, a schizophrenic fishmonger battering a Holloway butcher with a dumbbell before slitting his throat after suffering paranoid delusions.
"And it all took place between two Afghan asylum-seekers who worked in the busy Nag's Head Market in Seven Sisters Road."
Dyson notes: "Inside there were more sensational gems:"
  • 'Mechanic fined for drunken rampage' on page five, after havoc at the Walkabout pub in Upper Street. Islington;
  • 'Woman cat burglar is spared jail sentence' on page seven, telling the amazing tale of Sandy Rung-Ruangsap, who specialised in gaining access to flats in Holloway to feed her drug habit, with her 18th appearance in court ("staggering", said the judge); and
  • 'Primary school worker charged with guns plot' on page eight, which told how a teaching assistant in local classrooms had been charged with plotting to own and sell guns.
He adds: "Just to check it wasn’t a one-week special, by the way, I grabbed an online peek at last week's Gazette content as well  and was delighted to see 'Church service hammer terror': "A bare-chested intruder sparked pandemonium at a church service on Sunday after allegedly threatening the congregation with a hammer."
"This was a wonderful news story that would have been the talk of the town."
That's great Steve but what happens if, like me, you live in Islington. Isn't reading the Gazette going to make you a bit scared to go out?


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6 comments:

  1. Adam Westbrook27 January 2010 at 09:26

    Nice cheap way of producing a rag though: pay one reporter, and lock them inside the Crown Court 5 days a week!

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  2. Unknown27 January 2010 at 11:01

    It's how it all began, Jon (newspapers, Victorian era). I sincerely hope you're a reader, though, being a media commentator in the area...? And tho' I jokingly assumed the editor's instructions to go to court, there's more to it than that, Adam. Four reporters are pictured in the paper's index page, as well as the editor. Above aside, can I tempt you guys to comment on the blog at its htfp home... after all, they commissioned and are paying for the series so deserve the extra hits! Ta S ;-)

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  3. Jon Slattery27 January 2010 at 11:47

    Steve, I do read my local press.
    But there's more than just the Gazette in Islington. There's also the excellent Islington Tribune.
    Long may they both prosper.

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  4. Unknown27 January 2010 at 11:50

    Do let the blogs readers know on htfp... be good to see your view there if poss. ;-)

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  5. Anonymous24 April 2010 at 00:46

    Not that cheap - they're all from different courts. Of course soon we'll all rely on citizen journalists doing it all for free, right?

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  6. hotels in Islington17 February 2011 at 21:21

    I doubt it. But Islington needs a good press. I prefer Islington Tribune too.

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