Resolution of Retailer/Cobh News conflict in sight! I had a number of discussions today with three people who were directly and indirectly involved the dispute that gripped the town over the weekend about the removal of Cobh News from local retail outlets. as a result of these discussions, it had become clear fairly quickly that much of what we all believed about the affair over the weekend wasnt the factual case. in fact, it was because the story first came to light during the weekend, that people were not in a position to question certain individuals who might have otherwise been in a position to put the record straight earlier. I had learned from the Chamber President that his organisation had not issued any directive to local retailers to either boycott or remove copies of Cobh News from local stores. He further pointed out that his organisation neither held the right nor the will to carry out such an act and further stated that some of the local traders were not even members of the chamber and therefore were not beholding to the will of that body. He added that he was about 90% sure the call didnt come from his organisation, though I did get an impression that was not outside the bounds of possibility that someone may have acted without his knowledge. The President also pointed out that far from trying to hinder the existence of a local business publication like Cobh News, he wished it every success. He finished by saying he was willing to sit down and discuss this with Fr Kelleher in order to put his mind at rest about such matters if it was considered necessary. I later spoke with a local retailer who confirmed for me that he removed the magazine from his shelves by his own decision and without receiving any contact or direction from the Chamber. He further stated that he personally rang around other retailers and advised them to follow his lead, which many later did. This retailer was making no apologies for his actions and laid out his reasons why, saying he would remove other publications and supplements that carried adverts for rival stores that directly threatened his livelihood and those of his employees. He did however, emphasize that he would gladly restock Cobh News in the morning if he was satisfied that nothing it contained would threaten his business. He agreed that it was otherwise a first class community magazine that sold up to 200 copies with each issue in his shop. when I asked if he would consider taking out an advert in the magazine to help keep it afloat in a truly local sense, he told me he had yet to be asked to do that. The third person I spoke with was Fr Kelleher. I told him of the other two discussions I had and explained about the good will that came back towards the magazine from those quarters. Fr Kelleher was both surprised and relieved by this news. He was surprised and a little puzzled, like I had been to learn that the chamber had been innocent in all this and wondered how this had come about to begin with. He explained that one retailer who continued to sell the magazine over the weekend had remarked to him that he was expecting a call from the chamber at any time to remove the magazines. Whether the retailer had himself received an earlier call from some other retailer or if he had just surmised that the local call to boycott the magazine was prompted by the chamber, is only to be speculated at this point. but there is no doubt that the Chamber were wrongly blamed in all this, and I for one will put my hands up and admit i was wrong to prejudge the organisation without formal clarification, but as I pointed out earlier, perhaps the weekend break also played a part in that. the good news is there is much good will out out there towards Cobh News, and I would sincerely hope that the three men who I spoke with today could get together in the coming days and work out a way forward around this, where local businesses can all gain from doing the right thing. Lets get Cobh News back into Cobh shops - lets make phone calls to the same retailers to now restock the magazine. Lets try to keep the adverts in this magazine local ones - thus keeping the associated jobs local ones too. Lets all now avail of the good will that I witnessed today around this and lets all work together for the good of Cobh! The three parties concerned have my phone number - if I can be of help in the matter!
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 01:04:07 +0000
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