Stop newspapers advertising lies

[Cinuelica]

Stop newspapers advertising lies

To Mick94

I have been a member of this forum for a number of years but have not used it of late.

I want to say how refreshing it is to read your views. What I'd also like to know is, (perhaps I've missed it, sorry) how long you have lived in Spain and whereabouts you live.


Now, I am an ex-employee of a newspaper (editorial, not advertising) and those words which say they do not take responsibility for the contents of the ads is definitely their get out of jail card. Cash is everything. The same goes for the rest of the media as well.

Most newspapers' news coverage, especially the red tops, is about 50 per cent accurate, personally I think it's nearer 30 per cent, the broadsheets are better, but not by much. Newspapers have to make money to keep their advertising revenue, that's why we don't get a lot of "good" news stories, no one is interested. I worked in the industry for over 20 years and now I never read a newspaper, local or otherwise. Make of that what you will.

[Mick94]

Hi Cinuelica. In reply, I have been in Spain on and off since 1994. Since 2000, I have lived around the Orihuela Costa area.

Over a hundred of my articles have appeared in the local press. I also write for a couple of magazines overseas. Although a retired civil servant, I, by virtue of my previous job, enjoy researching and writing articles. I am a little way yet from being 65 so although I don’t need to work (I invested 12% of my salary from the time I started work to the time I finished), I like to keep the grey matter active.

I am now alone having lost my wife earlier this year. That said, I recently declined a job with one paper because I do not yet wish to commit myself to employment.

From my ‘previous life’ I am aware of the power of the press and indeed of the ‘red tops’ that persist in ‘paragraph reporting’. What they write is very influential and believed by a greater proportion of the population who like to buy the Sun, the Herald etc. To some extent, the press here are very similar with the added bonus, that they allow dubious businesses to advertise their services.

‘Free choice’ is wailed by some posters on this forum. Yes, but it should be based on good, reliable information and that is not readily available to many people resident here. Subsequently, I have seen many people who least can afford it, throw good money, their pensions, after bad. Currently this is Telmicro et al. It could equally be dodgy builder co. or white van co. 'Small minded' I am not. A person requiring truthfulness and the full facts I am.

I wrote about Telmicro a good six months back and following research with BSkyB and the BBC. Of course, the media failed to publish my piece but I am grateful for my research as I have lost no money at all to them nor have my neighbours who cancelled their subscription.

I also wrote following research with Standard, Poor and Fitch, the world’s leading business rating agency, concerning the Spanish construction industry. When it was revealed that large companies were spending ‘off plan’ deposits in speculative un-sold investments (in effect, spending people’s pension investments as ready cash) I and many other realised that they would come adrift as would the banks supporting them. That is why so many Spanish banks have now been rated down much to their outrage ! That is why so many people have lost their life savings with no home in Spain to show for it. No publication of that article either.

All freewill. But at what price ?

Margaret Thatcher liked to use the term 'freewill' ' there is no society' and so on. The results of that self centred woman and her politics are now clear for all to see in the fast declining and crumbling U.K.

I regret to say that loss of money by those least able to afford it will continue whilst the ex-pat populace lives here in a press supported vaccuumous ‘Britain’ abroad community with the reportage merely reflecting efforts to raise money for good causes back home, social events in bars and the like. I sometimes think Spain could disappear in some kind of apocalyptic event but still the Costa Blanca press would report that the ‘so and so club raised X euros for a charity in Liverpool’ (or any where else, of course)

[Fenderman]

Mick94's opening remark is to 'Encourage' people to write in, not 'compel' them Britbuild. I fully agree with your sentiments that we are capable of making our own minds up. You are free to write or to ignore and you have no duty to justify that decision either way.
Yet surely, and I apologise if my assumption is incorrect, in your trade there are many who are unscrupulous and give the building industry a bad name.
Where is the harm in letting newspapers know that we are unhappy with their adverts for such cowboys, of all types not just TV or building or whatever?
Yes they do rely on revenue from advertisers but customers have the ultimate say in where they read these adverts. If people stop reading a certain publication, revenue will decline.
If it is in their commercial interests to clean up their act, they may be faced with no choice.
Of course, how they go about that is a completely different and I speculate, impossible task. At least they will not be able to say they were unaware of customer feeling. That is one 'Get out of jail free' card we can deny them.

I was taken to the cleaners by Telmicro but to many people's surprise, I was unaware that the system was illegal. Why would I think otherwise to a company who have a huge sign right outside the town hall in Playa Flamenca, next to the Guardia Office? They advertised extensively and openly in the newspapers and had a bank account into which I had a direct debit. With so much else to organise on arriving in Spain, why would it occurr to me this was an illegal industry?
If I had known, maybe my decision would have been otherwise, maybe not. But the advert for an illegal business was there.
As you say, we are free to make our own minds up.