Closures spark media frenzy
Recent months have seen local and national newspapers full of stories about the plight of pubs. But is it harming the trade? Steve Hemsley reports
The Express & Star newspaper based in Wolverhampton appears ob-sessed with the pub trade. Article after article appeared in recent weeks, highlighting what it calls the "plight of local landlords". Sensational headlines such as: "Upmarket pubs shut suddenly" and "Landlords battle to pull in punters", have shouted out from its news pages.
In fact, regional newspapers across the country cannot get enough of this particular story. "Pubs in crisis" cries the Middleton Guardian; "Sheffield pubs at crisis point" hails The Star and "Closing time for pubs in crisis" reports The Denbighshire Free Press. That's just a few.
The national press can't seem to leave this topic alone, either. In April, the Sunday Times ran a lengthy piece under the heading "Closing time for Britain's public houses", quoting BBPA figures that four pubs a day are shutting.
So why are journalists so interested in our industry? And, more importantly, is the media's fascination helping or hindering the trade's attempts to get consumers back into pubs — and politicians to listen to its concerns?
"We are here to serve our readers, not the pub trade," argues Express & Star assistant editor Mark Drew. "Pubs are an essential part of the community, and we have received many phone calls and letters from people worried about closures. This is a working-class area, and the trend is having a big impact on people's lives. This story goes on and on."
Yet the concern within the trade is that the media coverage is too negative and is doing more harm than good. "The press needs to report how well some pubs are doing, as well as the closures," says Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Associations chief executive Tony Payne.
He admits the trade must do more to inform journalists about the many successes. It should emphasise, for instance, the millions of pounds pub customers give to charity each year. "I spoke to The Sunday Express recently and it is keen to put the other side. I have also been on the radio, getting the message over that many pubs are not only surviving, but thriving," says Payne.
One pub operator feared that the barrage of "pubs in crisis" stories will hamper recruitment of tenants.
At the Guild of Master Victuallers, executive officer John Madden criticises the media for its constant attacks on the trade. "Any support the press can give us is to be welcomed, but since the Daily Mail's campaign against 24-hour licensing laws, which other papers followed, the trade has been reported in a negative light," says Madden. "Good publicity that explains why closures are happening does help, but we do not need to see pictures of young people throwing up on the pavement and editors blaming pubs for that."
Eddie Gershon, PR consultant to JD Wetherspoon, says the mainstream press may appear to concentrate on the negative side of the industry, but plenty of good news stories are being printed, too. "The local and regional press run articles that are very supportive because they recognise a pub as a hub of its respective community," he says. "I don't think people are put off going to pubs because of what is said in a newspaper. Most people are intelligent enough to see that many stories are rash generalisations."
Gershon adds that the trade must continue to counter any factually incorrect reporting: "Going to a pub is still the most popular social activity for people in the UK — and the trade needs to keep reminding journalists about why pubs are such enjoyable places to visit."
Campaign for Real Ale chief executive Mike Benner believes the media and the trade are, on the whole, on the same side. He says newspapers recognise the threats facing the industry are real and editors are aware of the impact pub closures are having on their readers. "Generally the national media over the past few months has supported the plight of community pubs in particular," says Benner. "Pubs are closing at frightening levels — and our society and way of life will be the worse for it."
It is impossible to control the media agenda, so perhaps the trade should be grateful it is making the news at all. As Oscar Wilde said, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.
n Protz on pubs — p28
