We're all paying the price for Haringey's propaganda
I have recently received the September issue of Haringey People. Under the title it says Free for the residents of Haringey . But how much does this recycling material really cost? The four-colour publication now runs to 32 pages and I do not believe tha
I have recently received the September issue of Haringey People. Under the title it says 'Free for the residents of Haringey'. But how much does this recycling material really cost?
The four-colour publication now runs to 32 pages and I do not believe that it is free to publish, print and distribute. There is no such thing as a free lunch and I am not sure that the residents of Haringey are not paying for this monthly journal (and that real services are not crimped as a result).
The amount of useful facts and information is a small proportion of the 32 pages. There is practically nothing in it that interests me and yet residents get this forced through their letterboxes whether they want it or not. It seems to be aimed mainly at supporters of the ruling party.
Where the editorial is not self-congratulatory, this publication is bland, anodyne and sanitising. Anyone reading Haringey People alone would get a distorted view of life in this borough, where everything is apparently rosy and there is nothing but success and progress. Is this not totalitarian tactics?
If residents want to read about the abolition of the Slave Trade Act, are there not enough books in the libraries on the subject without this having to feature as a two-page spread in a local authority publication? How about some attention to the state of our roads?
In a plea to fly tippers (!) Haringey People suggests that if you let the council pick up bulky items ''you won't ever face a potentially huge fine''. How often do fly tippers face huge fines, anyway? How many prosecutions are there compared with instances of fly tipping taking place? Who takes this garbage seriously?
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Instead of the paper waste that this publication causes, why not test the real level of interest by selling it in libraries for a nominal fee, say 10p per copy? Or cut the handling costs by passing the print-run directly to the recycling team!
Real people tend to be prepared to pay real money for real stories in real papers. Thank goodness that a free press exists in the borough to counterbalance Haringey's partial propaganda paper.
CD Carter
Stapleton Hall Road, N4
