Article entered 17 July 2015

Pictured is Mr David Montgomery, CEO of LOCAL WORLD Ltd.

ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA IN CORNWALL – LOCAL WORLD

LOCAL WORLD Ltd is a large regional newspaper publisher in the UK which publishes around 100 print titles and has in excess of 70 websites. LOCAL WORLD Ltd was formed in 2012 by David Montgomery, a former chief executive of Trinity Mirror, and brought together Northcliffe Media from the Daily Mail and General Trust and IIiffe News and Media from Yattendon Group. The purchase of the businesses was approved by the Office of Fair Trading towards the end of June 2013 and within a year the OFT closed and it’s responsibilities passed to a number of different organisations.

The Cornish newspaper titles owned by LOCAL WORLD are as follows and does not include all the titles covering the West Country:

 

 

Although some thought LOCAL WORLD could breath new life into regional newspapers others thought David Montgomery’s vision revealed his contempt for regional newspapers and the regional media industry.

“We will harvest content and publish it without human interface”, unquote, David Montgomery.

Montgomery’s vision being that press officers from the police, hospitals, councils, schools, businesses and other organisations should be invited to provide the majority of stories usually by self-service and given a large measure of control as trust developed.

This to some showed little understanding of, or respect for, quality regional content that often begins with readers pleas, claims or complaints against those very same organisations. That such a vision did not allow for the exposure and coverage of regional scandals and controversy.

The following is a compilation of quotes I can identify with and which were made in reply to Montgomery’s LOCAL WORLD vision :

“RIP Local journalism“. “Local newspapers are in terminal decline because they started publishing press releases“. “How is this journalism ? ‘Content producer’ you may be—but not a journalist. Journalism means doing your own research and writing”. “How incredibly depressing. Letting the police and councils put their content direct on websites and in paper is dangerous in a democracy. ‘Content harvesting’ is a phrase straight from hell”. “Sounds like Montgomery’s vision of journalism is wholesale plagiarism with a side order of PR”. “And who does all the legal checking on this ‘skimmed’ (lifted) work ? Lifting other papers’ copy was considered lazy, dangerous and totally unprofessional”. “It releases journalists from rooting round for downpage drudge” – “That would be believable if there was anything in Montgomery’s vision that matched up with journalists being freed to investigate. He’s not interested in that, and he doesn’t want it because it’s too expensive. Far cheaper merely to scrape what others have already written”. “This is not a future model for local journalism because it doesn’t actually include any, it just provides a platform for free content provided by outside organisations. That’s why he doesn’t need reporters or editors”.

My thanks to those who made the above comments and my apologies to all those I could not include due to the limitations of space.

And what do I think ? I think it is outrageous that local communities can no longer trust what they are told by the media and that corruption and scandals will remain hidden only to become historic abuse cases in years to come due largely to the perpetrators remaining protected by a complicit and anti-social media more concerned with profit.

I also think it dangerous for democracy for LOCAL WORLD to be given control over so many local newspaper titles in the run up to a general election just because an out-going and no longer fit for purpose OFT approved it. In political terms it meant the vast majority of local newspapers bought by locals were told only what LOCAL WORLD and it’s less than honest contributors wanted local people to know.

It is said 80% of the media support a Tory Government and I would suggest it will be even greater by 2020. I am sure even Tories and the ruling rich would accept this cannot be good for a democracy, or perhaps they simply enjoy having the edge to win unfairly.

It is documented on the internet that I was subjected to a criminal mediation Scam in a St Austell cafe in 2010 by the country’s largest social housing provider Sanctuary Housing, and TPAS, an organisation which advizes government. That in 2012 I was arrested and taken to St Austell police station in connection with the Scam where 3 officers abused my rights and which eventually resulted in an investigation and complaint to the IPCC. In 2013 the IPCC ruled 2 Sargeants and 2 Officers with Devon & Cornwall Police should be given management action only for perverting the course of justice. That in 2012/13 I accused Cornwall Council and the NHS Foundation Trust of rigging Welfare Priority Assessments which abused and discriminated against the mentally ill, and which has remained on-going to this day. In 2014 I received a Letter of Defamation from the Council advizing me not to continue naming 2 council employees on social media who I accused of rigging Assessments. To date, and in reply, I have now named 6 council employees and 1 Trust employee in excess of 330 times on social media without penalty. I have also accused Cornwall Council and Sanctuary Housing of unlawfully ‘ringfencing’ Homechoice properties and deceiving applicants based on evidence I have been collecting for a number of years.

As important as it is to the people in Cornwall, who may also have been victims of criminality by Cornwall Council, Sanctuary Housing, Devon & Cornwall Police, the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust etc. none of the above has ever appeared in any Cornish newspaper despite me contacting them, which, in my opinion, makes LOCAL WORLD little more than a protection racket for everything that is rotten and corrupt in our local communities and in the UK today.

Prior to LOCAL WORLD David Montgomery joined the Daily Mirror in 1973 and became chief sub-editor in 1978. In 1980 he moved to the Mirror’s rival The Sun newspaper. Between 1985 to 1987 he was editor of News of the World, then became director of News (UK) Limited, a subsidiary of News International owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Between 1987 and 1991 Montgomery was editor of the Today newspaper, then owned by Murdoch.

Between 1992 and 1999 he was chief Executive of Mirror Group Plc, following the death of Robert Maxwell in 1991.

It was during this period that Daily Mirror Journalist nicknamed David Montgomery “Rommel” because “Montgomery was on our side”.

In 1999 Montgomery stepped down as CEO from the Mirror Group following some well publicised disagreements described by some as “crisis-hit”. In 2000 Montgomery founded Mecom Group which spanned 11 years and specialised in mergers and acquisitions of newspapers and media companies in continental Europe.

David Montgomery is married to the painter The Hon. Sophie Montgomery who is the daughter of the 3rd Baron Birdwood and ex-wife of the 3rd Earl of Woolton.

No pastie eaters there then.

According to Wikipedia Head Office is in London.