[Tealeaf]

I suspect the reason that the Accy Observer has not corrected its earlier inaccurate report on the Kashmir motion is that to do so would not correlate with its political stance. The AO is no longer an independent local newspaper but is part of the MEN newspaper group, which is in turn a subsidiary of Trinity Mirror. There can be no doubt as to exactly where TM owes its political allegiance and where it’s sympathies lie and that is with Labour with a strong dose of wet liberalism. While I have no problem with national newspapers maintaining a political slant – we can, after all, choose between reading Tory, Labour or Lib-Dregs inclined newspapers – the matter of a local newspaper doing so – especially a weekly one which has an effective monopoly on printed news for the town is entirely different.

Discounting the Lancashire Telegraph – which is a sub- regional paper and as rarely covers Hyndburn issues in any depth – we are left only with the AO. At one time, the Observer would have seized upon this story and followed on with a full editorial piece demanding just what the hell was the council playing at. Sadly, those days have gone. We are now left with a pathetic little rag were the most detailed coverage of local events are the regular photographs that appear, which invariably are either those of sunsets over Accy or a picture of a tree rat taken in someone’s back garden.

Neverthess, the AO still has a loyal (but declining) following of local readership, but how many are now fully aware of the hidden agenda of the paper? Very few, I think. Yet I would have thought that with the problem of declining newspaper circulation, a story such as the Kashmir business would, if fully and factually reported under the headline banner, have given a much needed boost to the paper. Facts are sacred and comment is free, but on this sad occasion, the Observer has none and has failed miserably.