Today’s headline - tomorrow’s fish supper wrapper!

“Today’s headline - tomorrow’s fish supper wrapper” is a phrase often used back home, in Scotland, when referring to the millions of fish and chips, or deep fried mars bar takeaways, that are still wrapped in the previous day’s unsold national and local newspapers. Both the broadsheets and redtops are recycled for this very purpose and for some reason your fish supper always tastes better wrapped in newspaper.

This much worn phrase implies that no matter how good or bad a printed headline is, in the vast array of news print we have available, it undoubtedly has a very limited lifespan. The sensationalism of a newspaper headline is more often than not extremely short lived and therefore all too easily forgotten!

It is without doubt our ability to forget that has Government, aided by their very clever PR gurus, that regularly and without challenge allow contentious and controversial issues to be “shock news” for a relatively short period of time as they are aware that we all literally “forgive and forget” in the space of a few days.

We can see clear battle lines being drawn when unpopular decisions are about to be made. With a quantifiable time period for the bad press fallout and social media pillorying in place. Rest assured there are advisors upon advisors acting on behalf of the many Government departments, working away into the wee small hours calculating just how long a bad news story will run and last, and working out how to “ride out the chorus of protest and disapproval”.

It is these risk and reward calculations that allow Government to make unpopular choices and deal with a plethora of embarrassing headlines. Even though we have no official word as to who or what will constitute the makeup of the next Government we have already seen, read and forgotten the recent headlines over the retaining, recharging or ditching of water charges!

We will read with regularity over the coming few days and weeks claim and counter claim as more and more insider inter-party negotiation information is leaked to the press from all mainstream political parties, alliance interest groups and independents, who could well be holding the balance of power of the next Government – a throwback to the “good old days!”.

This in turn will create sensational and often spurious headlines with a view to creating shock and astonishment for the reader. However, we must be prepared to dig deeper beyond the initial headline to get at the truth of the story to formulate our own opinions.

Sometimes we can and will be swayed by headline grabbers who cynics might say are published by newspapers to increase sales. After all bad news seems to sell many more newspapers than a good news story headline.

To tackle the various hot ticket issues in the next few weeks we need in turn to voice our own opinions and concerns to those who will making the decisions behind closed doors and in the corridors of Dublin. After all did we not go to the poles to vote for change? This can of course be done on a very local level through our four newly directly elected members.

But be warned the clock is ticking on our opportunity to have our say and voice our opinion. But it is never too late to make that difference.

We are all responsible for creating our own headlines and making the printed news matter to us. The last things we need in Waterford and Ireland Inc is a whole series of newspapers headlines that will simply disappear into our green refuse bin. Ultimately biodegrading or being recycled into another sensational newspaper headline.

As tax payers and voters we must not be frightened or concerned about contacting and lobbying those very people we ultimately employ. We are all responsible for making change for the betterment of Waterford and the wider society in general.

Don’t let today’s headlines be tomorrow’s fish supper wrapper!

Today’s Headline is Tomorrows..........

Waterford City's four local newspapers.

I am an avid reader and advocate for people reading, accessing and debating the content of our four local City newspapers. These are a wonderful way to access and keep up to date with ALL the local news headlines, interest stories, business news, charity news, and so on. You can even scan the local newspapers to see if you have been “snapped” by one of our infamous “local paparazzi”!

The role the local newspapers play in our day to day lives cannot be underestimated and with ALL the social media we access over the internet there is a growing threat that handling a newspaper may, in time, become a thing of the past. But at the present moment in time the local newspapers are here to stay and here to spark debate.

Last week our four local newspapers sparked plenty of debate across many a dinner table. With headlines that declared “Daylight Muggings”, “Happy Birthday Thomas Francis”, “Junkie City” and “Hospice Ball Run 2015 another rolling success”. Each headline in its own way trying to grab you the reader’s attention and persuade you to pick up the newspaper and read it cover to cover, and then hand on to someone else so that they can do the same.

Of course headlines are ultimately there to attract your attention and some would say that last week we even had “sensationalised” headlines.

When we do get the odd sensationalised local headline we often see and hear of reactions that spark further animated debate. Yet, I have over the last twelve months read an awful lot of negative national headlines and unfortunately watched national TV coverage of Waterford that has been far more damaging than what we read in our local newspapers last week. But the reaction to our national pillorying is at the very best muted and subdued and I often wonder why that is?

Take the very recent Vincent Browne TV show that showed Waterford City and County in a very bad light across several hours of national TV debate. And yet our response to this was very passive, almost dismissive and trivialised. In fact, I saw very little reaction to the “bad press” we ultimately received to this a TV programme that can be viewed by literally hundreds of thousands of viewers.

The headlines that grabbed most attention last week were of course “Daylight Muggings” and “Junkie City”. Both excellent pieces of investigative journalism and in many ways both articles were highlighting issues that we ALL know exist in the City, and we ALL know are issues that must be addressed in the short, medium and longer term if Waterford City is to flourish.

Whilst I cannot necessarily agree with the headlines, per say, we can all agree that in recent weeks and months we do have issues with drug use and muggings. These two headlines will hopefully encourage debate and ultimately help us find solutions that suit Waterford City.

What we do not want is people trying to find national solutions for our local problems.

As a relatively small City, Waterford does have its issues and when I hear and read about Waterford being compared to other cities or compared to this national average and that national average this makes my blood boil. To be very frank we should not really care about how we stack up against any other City as the only City that matters to us is Waterford. This is, after all, where we choose to live, work and play and therefore those who choose to compare us to other places I always see them as trying to gain some sort of promotional kudos or are in fact trying to simply flex their local wings.

Waterford needs to be mature enough and big enough to have and to hold sound reasonable debate on the issues that are clearly affecting our City. We must be able to take on all comers when it comes to tackling our City’s problems. Highlighting problems is a start and the fact that we now have these issues “outed” for public debate must surely be a good thing for our City to move forward.

I know that many of our City Centre businesses see on a daily basis that issues highlighted last week in the Munster Express and News and Star, and I know that those business owners and their staff and their customers wish to see creative solutions to our City’s issues. We need to see immediate social solutions to help those who clearly need help and we need to see zero tolerance solutions implemented for those who are freely breaking the law.

 

It is often said to me “Is what we have in Waterford City worth protecting and fighting for?”

Yes it is, and as I and many others have chosen to live, work and play in Waterford City we must come together to find solutions to our problems.

Finally, what we cannot do is gag, discourage or stifle our excellent local journalists from being just that. Remember that freedom of speech is a pillar of our democratic society and being able to communicate our own opinion, without censorship, is a headline worth shouting about.