More zoo news

Yet again, the BBC's hottest news story from Cheshire is about Chester Zoo. This week it's all about a pregnant orang-utan that the Zoo didn't know was pregnant. That's 4 zoo stories since the start of 2008 alone, and 15 in the last 12 months.

One might be excused for thinking nothing much happens in Chester apart from zoo births if you only get your news from BBC Online.

Yet the top stories in this week's Chester Chronicle are far more varied. There's the ongoing faked sport stars' autographs trial at Chester Crown court, a major report on the urban impact on the Cheshire countryside, the unearthing of a medieval graveyard on the site of the old Chester police HQ, which is currently being redeveloped, and a visit by Margaret Hodge MP (culture minister) who met with more than 30 leading cultural representatives to discuss the loss of Chester's theatre and cinema in 2007 and related issues. There were also news reports on several serious violent assaults in the area.

Almost all these stories would have appeared on the BBC's news page for Merseyside if they had taken place in Liverpool. Yet they seem considered not worth reporting nationally by the BBC because they took place 25 miles away.

TV debate stirs regional media interest

Following Wednesday's post about the invitation to appear on Newswatch on BBC News 24, the media in the north-west have shown interest.

The regional news hub, How Do, has reported on the forthcoming TV debate. There has also been some interest at the Chester Chronicle, although it's unclear at this stage if they will actually run an article.

The campaign is busy right now doing lots of PR to try and maximise the opportunity offered by Newswatch to widen the discussion.

Stay tuned!

Week-old news is not news!

BBC Online - please take note, if a story is more than 24 hours old, it's not news (unless you are running an update to an earlier story.

The news that the road around Chester railway station has no markings is old hat. It was published in the Chester Chronicle on Friday 11 January. That's a full 7 days ago. It's not news.

Bad enough that the BBC publishes so few news stories from Cheshire, but there is really no excuse for running a story that is no longer a story.

Irresponsible data collection

Back in September, we reported that the Chester Chronicle (and other Cheshire local papers owned by the Trinity Mirror group) had revamped its website to provide daily news online, in addition to the Friday print edition. The new site offers readers the opportunity to get involved in commenting on the news - citizen journalism - which is fine until you register and discover that you have to provide not just an email address but also your full name, phone number, fax etc etc, all of which may be published on the website. Somewhat irresponsible in these days of identity theft.

Worse, all comments are withheld from publication until approved by the moderator. What is the point of encouraging people to engage with their local media if their contributions are to be positively vetted?

We had hoped that the "Cheshire Communities" initiative launched by Trinity Mirror would have provided a viable alternative to the lack of news coverage of Cheshire at the BBC, but it appears not be the case.

Back to the drawing board...