Penicuik Cuckoo

Oooh, the spelling mistake is a bit of a corker. 100 lines and sit in the corner!

I was more interested in the twitter update which mentioned advertising in edition 3. Did I miss edition 2? Or does the new website qualify as edition 2 of the newspaper?

Why do we always moan and groan? By looking at the Headlines one automatically gets the feeling nothing ever changes in Penicuik! Been away for 2 years but have kept in contact with the Midlothian Forum. This on-line news letter makes me If there is something to say - say it and be done with it.

Actions speak louder than words, here we have so little but we all get on with our lives few people complain. What is wrong with Penicuik? Yes there are empty shops but show me a town that does not have a similar problem.

Try printing an up-beat on-line paper instead of doom and gloom headlines it might help! But there again that is perhaps why Penicuik stays the same?

Hi Mustard and welcome to the forum. I don't think that there have been any major changes in recent years. One of the more noticeable changes is that shops are closing. As you say though shops aren't just closing in Penicuik and they are closing in other towns as well. However, why does Penicuik or the other towns in Midlothian have to be the same as the others? Is there nothing that can be done to encourage people to open up for business?

Oh dear...this might not get the response they would like - a message on the Facebook page for the Cuckoo at
https://www.facebook.com/Penicuik.Cuckoo

"What do you think of our new website? Do you like it or do you prefer the old one? Please tell us below!"



PS: there seems to be another "mistake" on their website too as one of their headlines mentions a reduction in speed limits on the A702 - I assume they mean the A701 which is now 30mph from Glencorse Golf Club all the way through Penicuik?

They seem to have spotted their mistake now as changed to A701!

Sam
The correct answer, of course, is that we don't really give a stuff as long as it's
a accurate
b readable
c correctly spelt
d regularly updated
e has some point to it.

At the moment it appears to fail on all these counts so the message is stop tinkering and get it right.
Not being on Facebook myself (and happy to be that way) I pass my comments on here for what they're worth.

Serious loss of Credibility in the community. Reckless reporting.

Intriguing.........

I just went for a look, but they're offline at present while they sort out the "confusing article layout" or something.

Omala, I'll not show myself up as a nosy b@stard by asking you to repeat on the open forum whatever it was that got your hackles up........ but, er..... You could pm me........ maybe....

Let us say that the Cuckoos reporting of a tragic incident in Penicuik Tuesday afternoon was not the best ever seen. Their site has now been updated with full info on what happened which seems to be mainly a problem caused by Facebook.

Rubber eye, answer; You do not name a deceased until at least one next of kin is notified..unethical..to label compalianers as Trollers is inexcusble...

They seem to be saying it was all the fault of someone on Facebook.

http://www.penicuikcuckoo.co.uk/a-public-apology/

The police will normally issue a press release once the family of the deceased has been notified.
Until then responsible news media will give out nothing except the bare facts that an accident has occurred and a person injured.
Hopefully this unfortunate incident (and I assume that is all it was) will result in the Cuckoo tightening up its procedures, which ought to include not permitting unrestricted public access to the site for posting comments.
Allowing the community wide access to a community newspaper is an excellent idea but since the general public cannot be relied on to behave responsibly (sorry, Mr & Ms General Public, but that happens to be true) then some system needs to be in use to "trap" attempts to comment on on-going news stories.
This business shows the strength of on-line community media in being able to get stories out to the community almost as soon as events happen. It carries with it some obvious dangers and points up the need to be doubly careful about how the story is handled. I don't want to read on the internet in the office or away from home that a relative has died or that my house has burned down and the fact that some idiot has tweeted it or posted it on Facebook is not an excuse.
Must say the Cuckoo is starting to look good though!

No more cuckoo? It seems they have decided to suspend printing the paper after yet another change to the website so another paper-based newsletter disappears as The Monthly Edit appears to have stopped as well. Here is the message reproduced from the pop-up on their site:
"Important Printed Paper Announcement
It is with great sadness and regret that we announce tonight, Friday 17 May, that the publication of the printed Penicuik Cuckoo is to be suspended. Due to a combination of financial concerns and changes to our journalists' personal lives, we have taken the decision to suspend and investigate the publication of our printed newspaper within Penicuik. This decision is effective immediately and as such we will not be publishing Issue 6, which was due to be published today. However we intend to re-evaluate the status of the printed paper in quarter three of this year. If you wish to stay in the know with regards to the development of the printed paper, you can signup to our new email service TPC Infinity at http://eepurl.com/i-2Q9. This move will not harm our newly revamped website. Our website will now undergo a content transformation as we bring to you weekly weather forecasts, events and reviews, community news, editor's letters and ultimately more in depth local news and sport. As ever we continually seek to procure new volunteers to help with the publication of online news articles. You can find out more, if you are interested, at http://wp.me/P2ISzR-pO. We thank you all for your continued support. Should you wish to discuss the printed Penicuik Cuckoo with us further, please do not hesitate to contact us by email, news@pen-y-cog.org.uk, or through Facebook's messaging system. The Penicuik Cuckoo Team"

I think the point was made at the very beginning — online is now what matters. Very sorry to those who don't have internet access but when you want a quality community newspaper and only have a shoestring to run it on the only way is electronic.
Let's see how it goes, eh.

Even the website seems to be fading as there have been no updates for a few days....looks like they are moving over to Facebook instead. It would help if they managed to keep the same website layout for more than a few days!
Funny how some people thought the Town Crier would be killed off by the new upstarts but look which one is still going strong!

http://www.penicuikcuckoo.co.uk/2013/05/the-last-blow/?fb_source=pubv1

Quote :

It is that time again when the local authority gets to role out the idea wagon to try and secure a bright future for the region but this year our Editor wishes theyd just left it in the shed

This is all one run-on sentence, using the word 'role' when it should be 'roll'.

Punctuation, as in the use of the word 'theyd' and capitalisation of 'Editor' is laughable.

I've seen primary school children with a better grasp of the english language than that.

*edit 29/05/2013 09:00 *

They have fixed it. Obviously someone there reads this forum. They have not fixed the numerous errors in grammar, spelling or punctuation in the rest of the article (nor the rest of the site).

Perhaps they should look at having their work proof-read before publishing, although I suppose it would take an infinite number of primary school pupils a very long time to check the output of an infinite number of monkeys pounding away on an infinite number of typewriters.

*To the Penicuik Cuckoo *

Using big words only makes you look smarter if:
1. The word is used correctly
2. The word is used in context
3. The word is spelt correctly
4. The word is used to enhance the message, not just for the purpose of seeming erudite.

Now go away and think about what you've done.