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Thank you everyone for all your kind greetings in the introduction thread.

As I start at the Observer soon, I would like to ask you:

What do you think are the main local issues our paper should cover?

cheers, Vitty

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Council misdeeds, malfeasance and general incompetence.

I would also like to see the Observer take a much more campaigning role; there are a lot of issues which affect the locality which are merely reported as who said what and when.

In addition I think that the people who write the restaurant/fast food reviews and the "Mr Angry" column are badly in need of something better to do with their time.

Could someone also explain why the vast majority of Situations Vacant appear to be in either Rochdale or Bury?

Oh, and by the way, Welcome to Accyweb. I hope you find it as much fun as I do.

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[quote=Acrylic-bob Could someone also explain why the vast majority of Situations Vacant appear to be in either Rochdale or Bury? .[/quote]

I have worked for the company elsewhere before coming to Accrington.

The central office for the northern division is in Rochdale. Advertisements are placed here over the phone for all the group's newspapers.

My presumption is, some employers in Rochdale and Bury just decide to place ads in all Greater Manchester Weekly Newspaper titles for convenience.

It's only a guess though.

On your other points, as an experienced town hall reporter, I will get to know the councillors shortly.

However, if you have specific information that might be usefull, feel free to let me know.

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Abide by Twains dictum, Vitty and take no crap off 'em. Watch out for any dodgy brown envelopes they may slip your way. And good luck.

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I've been around long enough to know that happens, but also long enough to know if reporters were in their job for money, they would have chosen a different career :)

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I would also like to see the Observer taking more of a campaigning role. The Arndale Clock may be a start.

I would like to know where our council tax money actually goes, and how much is wasted on useless council meetings where nothing actually gets done. I would like to see profiles of top management working in our local council and what they actually do to earn their money.

Mr Angry has got to go. It is a direct rip off from the old Steve Wright in the afternoon radio show, and lacks originality.

A bigger nostalgia section would be nice, where people could send in their old photos of Accy, especially of streets and events which no longer exist.

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Can you give me some background on this one?

They have such a feature in Rochdale, which is very popular. Let me see what I can do.

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The Arndale clock was removed to make way for that pathetic little cafe in the Arndale centre. We have had a few threads about it on here, mainly trying to find its whereabouts and to reinstate it somewhere else in the town. If you type Arndale clock into the search feature on Accyweb, those threads should come up.:D

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Aye. Get rid of Mr Angry & the stale butty column. Every good newspaper has a health correspondent these days, so why not the Accy Observer? I would respectfully suggest Nurses Lettie & Margaret, whose daily health tips we have been following on the Accy Web for several years now. I'm sure they would be quite prepared to bang out a few words for the Observer, providing of course, the price is right.

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Could I ask, if it is not impertinant, whether you actually live in the borough, Vitty?

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Yes, definitely get rid of Mr Angry. I would suggest that pupils from the local secondary schools could be encouraged to write on local issues that affect them.....or that that they feel strongly about.

It is a good way to encourage the young readership too.

Health issues are poorly covered. The column that tell us about the likes and dislikes of a local person is rubbish too.....I would ditch that.

And surely, even if the main office is in Rochdale, the job adverts could be tailored to the local area.

Vitty.....I think maybe it is a big job you have ahead of you there. Good Luck .

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Less pages of Steve and Leanne's engagement party. All pictured having a jolly time with friends and family at the Canine club. Very nice for the people concerned, but as boring as hell for every other reader. Just seems like a total waste of space, and an easy filler.

Agree with everyone else, Mr Angry makes your reader's angry, not because interesting issues are raised, but because it's rubbish.

Lastly, if you are going to have a best takeaway/ pub grub feature, make sure you have one judge or the same panel visiting all the entrants. Very often the reviewer will say they are vegetarian, and the next they will be enjoying beef in ale pie. Consistency pays, your readers aren't daft, and I for one hate being hood winked.

Good luck. It's a much loved paper, and I for one hope your enthusiasm helps make it more locally relevant.

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First, I live near Bolton. I must admit, I much prefer reporters to be from the town they cover.

However, this is nearly always never the case and it's due to the way the industry works at senior level.

Second, we definitely encourage worthwhile, constructive opinions like these to the letters page.

It would be a great help if you could all could write/email in on the subject of the Mr Angry column.

Third, the Arndale Clock. I'll make a deal with the people concerned about it: I will strive to get a 'restore the clock' campaign piece in if you are kind enough to supply me with some quotes on the subject.

The standard layout for such quotes is as follows:

John Smith, aged 33, of Smith Street, Church, said: "<whatever he said".

So those details would have to go in.

Finally, all your suggests have been constructive and in some cases superb.

Rest assured, I will be looking into it.

Keep them coming, and thanks.

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try looking in the archives of the past posts on here .........+campaign to save arndale clock you may find it interesting its on the 2nd page