Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Seven Streets Refuses To Be Shanghaied

About a month ago David Bartlett was belatedly alerted to the Seven Streets website & remarked how impressed he was with it (http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/dalestreetblues/2010/06/check-out-this-new-website.html ).
Alas, David may now rue those words, as Seven Streets has followed the good Professor's lead (http://profchucklebuttychronic.blogspot.com/2010/06/liverpool-show-and-on-show-to-world-new.html ) & taken a sensibly dispassionate & sceptical look at the city's, erm, presence at the Shanghai Expo (http://www.sevenstreets.com/features/shanghai-expo-liverpool/ ).
Seven Streets' piece couldn't be further away from the mindless cheerleading the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo have done for this waste of money.

19 comments:

Professor Y. Chucklebutty said...

Correspondent, you are very kind to give mention to my Chronic calls. I have dipped into a couple of the Seven Streets and I am still, in the words of Bucks Fizz, Making My Mind Up. Jolly, but I am not quite yet ready to pull my skirt off.

Maybe years of reading the Echo has made me a bit of a cynic but I seem to detect a certain formula in some of the more critical pieces.

Some of the articles of interest seem like a belated cry of the Emperor has no clothes, about 6months or more after the little boy first spoke up and was joined in chorus by hundreds of others.

So we see things that you and the LPT or Liverpool Confidential has been talking about for a long time presented as if it is a revelation. Does & Streets repeating criticisms validate them?

Where they are being critical over issues like the Heritage Site or the Expo (and Rex got there before us both on that one)once having stated what is now undeniable fact, there is what seems a positive spin put on it at the end. i.e. Yes it's a bit rubbish but it may still be of benefit so don't knock it too much.

On that basis it helps to tone down the initial and no longer credible Trinity Spinner that has been gushing praise for everything Peel, Mann Island, Shanghai etc.

An excercise in lowering expectations following the over zealous hype in the local press which allows them to start slipping in slightly less hyped up reporting without having to do a complete volte face as the money fails to pour in from Shanghai and people weep in the streets looking at the rubbish being built at the Heritage site and other such delights.

I started initially to wonder if there is any Trinity Mirror or other link to this sudden slick professional looking site on first viewing but I understand it's all done for free isn't it? It's very glossy, well put together but it was the fact that it seemed to spring from nowhere and in some places seemed an imitation of other sites.

I suppose I was suspicious at first as I recall some time ago reading about counter propaganda
and the way it is used to diffuse the opposition. One of the tried and tested techniques is to repeat and adopt many of the oppositions lines and so win them over to your
side. Then you can start converting them to your own cause and they stop complaining leaving it to your propaganda machine instead. Hearts and Minds.

Now I am sure that is not the case with this publication as there are many varied articles and features. However, it is an interesting concept to think about when reading the articles in any journal that suddenly seems to have seen the light on certain matters,including some of the slightly altered perspectives that have cropped up in the Post recently. Or even the fact that Rex's piece was published.

Right, I'm off to bed with my copy of War Cry from the Sally Army.

Liverpool Preservation Trust said...

Prof thanks for the advice but we do have to think very hard about the way viral marketing is being handled in this age. We cant be spoken down to we have fought too hard. You cant kid Correspondent hes too clever.
Call me cynical but everyone working in marketing seems to have been employed by Oldam Hall street at some stage.
I support the site Sevenstreets but the jury is still out until we consistantly read the truth week in week out. We have not made our mind up yet. Good luck to them if they wish to join us in telling the truth.
Believe me we tried to win hearts and minds at the Oldham Hall Street a complete waste of time the local papers have a culture of deciet.
We have sevenstreets on our blogroll.
With any site that asks people to suggest stories there is always a payback.

http://www.sevenstreets.com/features/paradise-street-williamso/

What we do not need in our plight, as you say, is not, people coming along and making shock horror revelations after the event.

Wayne Colquhoun

Anonymous said...

Is the editor of the said website Sevenstreets a person whose name sahll be called David Loyd who thanked David Bartlett after a mention on his blog, and was the said same editor of sevenstreet a magazine called Liverpool.com and was that magazine a derivitive which came from a magazine called Space that Dave Cottril edited.
Was both said magazines conrolled by the Trinity Mirror Group?

Anonymous said...

http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/dalestreetblues/2010/06/check-out-this-new-website.html#comments

Media watcher said...

Yeh, I heard that it was Trinity Mirror controlled too, though they would never admit it. One giveaway is that certain Trinity Mirror staff have their bylines on it. Surely that can't sit well with Correspondent and Liverpool Preservation Trust. They must be laughing their Dicko-s off at you two in Old Hall Street every time you two pump it up

Anonymous said...

In this day and age one has to get the truth from honest people with no interests other than to tell it as it is. Such as this blog. The public are fed up being lectured by double dealers masquerading as journalista.
The unfortunate event is that those at Old Hall Street have long sold out their principles so why would anyone wish to care what anyone in Old Hall Street thinks.
There is no point anymore in considering them anything other than cop-outs taking hush money for advertorial space.

david said...

Hey, Anonymous, you're either a brilliant Private Detective, or I'm a really crap undercover artist. Tell you what, let's call it a draw:

http://web.skrift.co.uk/2010/06/03/sailing-on-the-seven-streets/

(I mention Trinity in my 'about me bit') I can't add anything to Robin's post - we have no agenda. We're just writing stuff about a city we care for. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for all the comments - it's good to stir up interest.

Liverpool Preservation Trust said...

I think it would be fair to give them at Sevenstreets a chance they seem to be in the right zone with a bit of luck they can contribute to the debates that are going on in the city as long as they dont snatch all the stories in hindsigight from us it may be alright. I agree with David that Bartlett is a nice guy......but compromised by an editorial stance that is at its worst ever. 20 years ago no editor would have allowed the world heritage site to be destroyed.
I have friends there in Oldham Hall Street believe it or not and those freinds respect the right for me to critisize them.
They, the clever ones know that, Sometimes those you think of as your enemies are often your best freinds in disguise, they tell you the truth.

Anonymous said...

I would be interested to know where Those at Seven Streets work now, Is it in the advertising and PR sector?

Robin said...

There's a clue in the fact we describe ourselves as 'journalists'

Anonymous said...

Well exactly, Robin!

Anonymous said...

So who do you work for now David & Robin from SevenStreets. In order to be taken seriously by determined people who cant be swayed, we need to know, despite the butter wouldnt melt in your mouth reasonings, where your loyalties lie and who you are in hock to.

Robin said...

That's it from me - we're not obliged to justify ourselves to you Anonymous (why are they always anonymous?). And this exchange has gone beyond bizarre and into tin-foil hat territory.

There's a very obvious (electronic) paper trail around the web that will tell you everything you need to know about me, and probably David as well: life, loves, cricket, cars, inside leg measurement - use a bit of nous and look it up yourself.

If that's too hard, then ask Correspondent what he thinks - he's been following my blog for a couple of years.

Anonymous said...

Just as I thought in hock to Trinity Mirror and all those friends and aqauaintences at October, Aurora, Think publicity, Ambersand etc, etc, etc

Robin said...

A simple wind-up merchant? How disappointing.

Ronnie de Ramper said...

I can vouch for Robin Brown. He's his own man. He doesn't know I know him, but I do. He's sound. End of.

Correspondent said...

OK, OK, OK, we've had a rather fruitless exchange of words here. For what it's worth, I'll chip in with my own thoughts. The Professor is entirely right to raise a valid question about Seven Streets. However, the "anonymous" commenters about its rumoured links to Oldham Hall Street should be able to prove what they insinuate. They should produce their evidence, or withdraw the libel (for that's what it is, in my book).
As Robin pointed out, I wouldn't have linked to the Liverpool Culture Blog all this time if I suspected there was a Trinity Mirror connection.
As for Media watcher's "contribution", maybe it's just the cynic in me, but I wouldn't be surprised if he/she were a Trinity Mirror troll unsuccessfully attempting to play the agent provocateur game.
Wayne hits the nail on the head. Seven Streets has made the right points about events in this city, in stark contrast to the Daily Ghost & Oldham Echo. As long as that remains the case, we'll both link to it.

Professor Y. Chucklebutty said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
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