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| Today's edition of the Grimsby Telegraph |
FOR news, read booze!
The media company that publishes the Grimsby Telegraph and national titles, such as the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror, has now launched a new subsidiary - a beer distributor.
Reach plc is using its titles to promote Hopsmore, its online company which sells cans of beer by the caseload.
This is to the benefit of readers who like to quaff at home rather than in licensed premises.
Double-page spreads promoting Hopsmore first appeared in the Grimsby Telegraph and its sister-papers in autumn.
In today's Telegraph, there was a full-page spread, and more can probably be expected in the run up to Christmas and New Year.
The Grimsby News says: This venture is surely a misjudgement - and an irresponsible one at that. Over decades, centuries even, newspapers now owned by Reach plc have chronicled the miseries and tragedies caused by alcohol consumption, yet now this company has chosen to promote such sales with full-page spreads in the pages of its titles including the Grimsby Telegraph, a publication with a heritage second to none. There are other considerations that seems to have been overlooked by its management. What will be the response from teetotal readers and advertisers, including Methodists and Muslims. And what will be the impact on the hospitality industry, including many struggling village pubs, if more people choose to stay at home to do their ale-guzzling? If ever there were a case (or should that be crate?) of profit being put before principle, this is it. Reach plc should stick to its knitting by publishing news, not selling alcohol.
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| The Hopsmore promotion in today's paper |
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