Largs and Millport News | Opinion | Why newspapers should challenge authority

Saturday, 5th July, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 7th May, 2008 12:00

Why newspapers should challenge authority

DURING annual Local Newspaper Week when we are allowed to pat ourselves on the back for our role in the community I am rather proud of a critical remark made about us this week.

A spokesperson for Amey contractors who carry out the works on the main roads accused us of persecuting them. Apparently, there is no other paper in Scotland that has a go at them like we do.

Well, I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you. As the longest serving editor in Britain I hold on to newspaper traditions...like challenging authority when required.

It was an absolute necessity this week as traffic, attempting to get in and out of Largs, could barely move for major road works in every direction. It was, literally, snail’s pace.

Now, Amey did listen a few weeks ago when we alerted them to the fact that Largs on Mayday Monday is about the busiest of the year. They suspended the digging of the A78 between Haylie Brae and Fairlie until Tuesday. It was still a nightmare on the local roads this week as not only was the south end of town under excavation but the north end too...simultaneously.

“We consult with the police and the council” said the spokesperson. Oh yes, then why were the police positioned at the Skelmorlie end trying to catch speeding vehicles. And if drivers - stuck on the coast road for an hour - were over the limit who could blame them?

It is the job of the local newspaper to be adversarial and, unfortunately, in my opinion as a hands on editor since 1974 very few local newspapers even have a voice these days.

As our readers know well if we didn’t raise objections to daft decisions taken by faceless bureaucrats and uniforms we would be ridden over roughshod even worse than happens.

Persecute? Some of them should be prosecuted for driving us up the wall...and off the road.

Another old newspaper adage....publish and be damned.

Print the news and raise hell.

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