Beeb Bashing – Salford Fights Back

After the relentless campaign by the cheaper end of the Fourth Estate to demonise the City of Salford – mainly because the BBC has relocated many of its shows to the MediaCity complex on the Quays – the locals are starting to fight back. And early signs even include an implicit admission from the obedient hackery of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre that they may have got it wrong.

Salford Quays and Metrolink tram

I stress implicit, as the Vagina Monologue and his followers only do proper apologies when someone with sufficient funds takes them to the cleaners. But an article containing some factual material comparing crime levels in Salford to those in the part of west London that is home to Television Centre – the latter comes off significantly worse – is at least a start.

But the title, “No need for the guards, then? BBC’s new Salford home is SAFER than its old London HQ, Government figures show”, means that the Mail says it did nothing wrong and the scare stories are the Beeb’s fault. This is more spin: as I pointed out last week, both the Mail and Murdoch Sun were talking up the safety issue, with the latter making up its key quote.

And the Mail hacks, in their desire to get the story on to people moving from London to Cheshire, show real capital-centric cluelessness when it comes to their favourite subject of house prices. They’re almost as high as London! They are? Not here in Crewe they aren’t, nor in any of the outlying villages, nor down the line in Hartford or Acton Bridge. Where is the Mail looking?

Ah well. They may be looking in Bowdon, Nether Alderley or of course Alderley Edge (aka A K Yah Edge), which enjoy frankly daft house price levels. These are not typical for most of the county: even the City of Chester isn’t at London levels, although it’s pricy to buy anywhere within the City wall. The Mail’s staff have the disadvantage of being stuck in their Kensington HQ.

Moreover, they just don’t want to cover the story that many ordinary folk in Salford are talking about: jobs. All those folk working at MediaCity and, as the independent Salford Star has pointed out, only 16 new jobs for locals. There have been others in the hotel, catering and retail sectors – not exactly big money payers. But on this the Mail and Sun are not expending column inches.

And that hasn’t impressed the Salford Star, which produced an article last Thursday about local rap collective Class Actions and their support for Liverpool fans killed at Hillsborough. The message is short and to the point: “Rip Up The Sun”. Rupe and his downmarket troops are still in the mire down the other end of the East Lancs Road. They won’t do themselves any favours going after folks in Salford.

Losing more sales in the North West? Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bloke.