Former Birmingham Mail editor Steve Dyson has made a plea for the journalists involved in the war between the Birmingham Post Lite and Birmingham Press to show less bitterness to each other.
Writing on his blog reviewing regional newspapers, hosted by HoldtheFrontPage, Dyson has a message for the troops involved in the battle between the Trinty Mirror and Chris Bullivant owned titles.
He says: "Compete with drive and enthusiasm and continue to dash to beat each other to the best tales. But try to avoid too much of the bitterness that is currently flying about. Already we have former Post columnists sent to Coventry by remaining staff for jovially poking fun at ex-colleagues, a row that started when blogger John Duckers referred to the Post Lite as the Post 'Shite' before it was even printed.
"I've spoken to Duckers and, because of the offence caused, he regrets he went too far and has deleted the wayward post. But come on, guys and gals, www.duckersanddiving.co.uk is meant to be caustic, and we all love to laugh when it's cutting about everyone else.
"I mention this only as an example of how friends could be lost for the wrong reason. The likes of Duckers and many other Press contributors I’ve spoken to were, remember, discarded by the Post and Mail, and they have every right to happily contribute to write for a new publication that is welcoming and paying for their scripts.
"None of the troops deserve to be cast out as treacherous. Save that for Generals Bailey and Bullivant, and keep them on their toes to properly back quality products in Birmingham."
For the record, Dyson believes the Lite narrowly beat the Press in launch week. But he has already voiced his concern that Trinity's strategy is "mistaken" and might backfire by hurting its core products in Birmingham, the Post and Mail.
No comments:
Post a Comment