Some 'quality in the minute-taking'. That's what Bristol's mayor Marvin Rees says he thinks journalists covering council issues should do more of.
He was speaking at a council meeting where he described Bristol Live as an 'embarrassment to the profession' following a report by one of our Local Democracy Reporters on the likely travel problems that will be caused with a rolling programme of bridge repairs in the city. He also questioned the ‘accuracy’ of the story.
While of course, Mr Rees is entitled to disagree with our headlines and how we write our stories, we don't believe he should be using his public platform to denigrate one reporter's work when there are much more important issues facing the city. Especially when that reporter is sitting in the same room and cannot, of course, reply.
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His main objection was over the use of the word 'chaos' in the headline. But is it really over the top? The impact of the closure of Gaol Ferry Bridge cannot be overstated. It's caused traffic problems, such as last year when three bridges were closed. That caused gridlock in the city centre.
And we've reported on numerous businesses at Wapping Wharf saying it had a significant impact on their business. The owner of Woky Ko Larkin Cen said the bridge's closure played a key part in his decision to shut his Wapping Wharf branch.
Now we are not against the planned work for the bridges - far from it. It's essential and quite right that it's a council priority. But we also feel it's quite right to highlight - based on previous history - the likely issues that will cause.
We do stand by the story that we ran - it is fair and accurate, which are the standards we are held by. It might not be to the mayor’s liking, but that doesn’t make it wrong.
And ‘minute-taking’ is certainly not the role of the Local Democracy Reporters who cover the council. Their remit is to hold the council to account, ask the difficult questions and inform the readers what’s happening. So if Mr Rees is expecting minute-taking, he’s going to be disappointed.
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