Media Circus

Had enough of Cabot Circus yet (or Carboot Circus as it’s apparently now known)? Us too (See everywhere passim ad nauseum). Unfortunately we’ve restricted our own agenda somewhat at Evening Post Watch. We are kind of guided by the agenda at the Post, and their agenda is most definitely Cabot Circus.

So, you would think that after literally years of recycling the same old corporate PR puff about the coming of this glorious New Jerusalem, the Post would relish the chance to report an actual, real, near-tragic news story about the shopping centre they have been promoting and advertising continuously for months on end. Oh, hang on . . .

On Friday, the day after we were treated to the “WOW!” front page and eleven more pages about Cabot blah blah blah . . . a seven month old baby was rushed to hospital after a window fell out of the new Harvey Nichols building and landed on the baby’s pushchair injuring him and his mother. They are now both OK.

The Post reported the story on page five of Saturday’s edition. Well, it’s hardly front page news, is it? But, was that WOW! story front page news? Or the aliens? Or the ghosts? To be honest, we really don’t have a fucking clue how the Post decides on “news worthiness”. News values? Yeah, right.

Reading the story though, we were struck with a feeling of déjà vu. Surely we have read somewhere before about falling windows at this development. But there was no mention of it in the story. Surely, if this had happened before, that’s a pattern, right? The Post would mention it, even if only to tell us they had investigated and ruled out a connection, right?

So, where had we read about falling windows before? Oh yeah, the Evening Post.

Here, from April 18 2008, a story headlined, “I am so lucky to be alive – josie”.

A Bristol office worker says she is lucky to be alive after a 15ft pane of glass fell from the Cabot Circus tower block and crashed to the ground only metres away from her.
Josie Cooke was walking to work in the city centre when a window pane “the size of a bus stop” fell from the 14-storey apartment block in the new Cabot Circus development . . .
Ms Cooke, 49, from Knowle, said there is no doubt she would have been killed if the window had landed on her. The incident is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive . . .
She said: “I was so lucky. I got off the bus by NatWest and walked to the site entrance. The workmen asked me to stop so the fork lift truck could reverse, and the window just came down in front of me.
“If I hadn’t stopped it would have fallen on top of me. I would say it was about 15ft by 5ft, the size of a bus stop. It was my lucky day. It would have killed me.”
The 14-storey tower, one of the tallest buildings in Bristol, has been built over what will be a three-storey Harvey Nichols store . . .

And then on May 2 2008; “Cabot circus tower task is such a pane”.

“Dozens of window panes have been removed from Cabot Circus ‘ landmark tower as work continues to replace hundreds of panels of metal cladding on the building.
Two weeks ago, it was revealed that workmen on the luxury apartment block were removing the silver-coloured aluminium and zinc cladding after it was discovered the fixings were not up to scratch.
It then emerged that a 15ft pane of glass had fallen from the building a month before, narrowly missing an office worker walking past – an incident which is under investigation by the Health and Safety Executive.
Now the windows on the building have also been taken out as the tower is stripped back to its inner concrete structure.
The 14-storey tower, one of the tallest buildings in Bristol, has been built over what will be a three-storey Harvey Nichols store . . .”

Perhaps we are being unfair and the Post have investigated and ruled out any possible connection between sub-standard fittings, windows being removed  and replaced, rushed completion and falling panes of glass. But if so, why not tell us? Or perhaps we are just being too cynical.

 

UPDATE 1: The Telegraph made this comment in its report of the incident,

“Although Cabot Circus staged its grand opening on Thursday only 100 of its projected 140 stores were completed in time.

It has been suggested the incident may have happened as a result of builders rushing work in order to finish on schedule.”

 

UPDATE 2: Just stumbled upon this interesting comment on a construction/architecture forum discussion about Carboot Circus from June:

“Just something you might want to be aware of, in Derby we recently had a major shopping centre development (Westfield Derby) open ala Cabot Circus and with a short time to go it didn’t look like it was going to be finished in time. Westfield then got contractors working 24/7 for around 3-4 months and got it finished in time…..however this meant that things were rushed and consequently most of the flooring has had to be replaced just 8 months after it opened and there have been various other problems with painting not being finished and glass roof panels falling into the shopping centre!!. I just hope that the same thing doesn’t happen at Cabot Circus as judging by those photos there’s a hell of a lot of work left to do in a relatively short space of time. “

(That’s enough Carboot Circus – Ed)

Joined up journalism

From yesterday’s Evening Post (Tuesday September 23):

So, the love affair with our new shopping centre Cabot Circus continues ahead of Wednesday and Thursday’s openings; no surprise there. And whilst ordinary Bristolians face rising food prices, pay cuts, huge fuel bills, house repossessions and job loses, the Post uses another front page to promote a shop for the rich. But don’t worry, the Post has managed to secure EXCLUSIVE “sneak preview” pictures. It really is “luxury for all” isn’t it?

Inside, amongst the four pages devoted to “Cabot Circus” reporter Niamh Byrne gives us a tour of Harvey Nicks which reads like a corporate press release.

Finally we are introduced to three happy Cabot Circus workers. First of all Andrew Jenkins a 22 year old graduate who is apparently happy to be flogging shirts in Top Man. Sheila Biddle who is impressed that the company she now works for sells “ethical furniture”. Well, I wonder how ethical they are when it comes to workers’ rights, trade union recognition and decent pay. Good luck, Sheila. Finally we meet Nicky Mcleod, a security guard. He tells the Post that he was made redundant by the CEED employment charity around the corner in St Pauls when their funding was cut. Obviously the Post misses the irony.

We are told that there are 4000 jobs being created by Cabot Circus and how this is bucking the national trend for job cuts. But we are not told how many jobs will be cut as trade is lost from other shopping districts. We are also not told how many of these new jobs are just being transferred from branches closing in other parts of the city.

And what kinds of jobs are these? Retail, catering, security, cleaning; some of the lowest paid, least secure jobs going. Minimum wage McJobs. Is this the best our kids, our graduates, our unemployed can expect? Don’t expect the Post to ask.

On page 9 of the same edition, the latest in the Post’s “The Big Squeeze” series of articles which could be entitled “Economic Crisis for Kidz”.

Reporter Niamh Byrne, having finished her guided tour of Harvey Nicks, has nipped over to St Pauls (a poor inner-city area on the edge of the Cabot Circus development) to produce a story headlined “Shops suffering as credit crunch bites”. Are they taking the piss?

Update: Three excellent posts by the Bristol Blogger on Cabot Circus and the media.

Bread and Cabot Circuses

Chris Hutt at Green Bristol Blog has just posted on our new monument to consumerism, Cabot Circus, and the unfortunate timing of this months’ opening coinciding with the latest round of economic crisis.

He also notes the Evening Post’s apparently insatiable pant-wetting excitement about this ugly new shopping centre. They’ve even been running a readers’ competition this week for a chance to win a VIP tour of the place! Get a fucking grip, people; It’s a shopping centre.

There is something obscene about the rich wankers that are responsible for imposing this monstrosity on us, cheered on by their mates and lackeys in the council and the media, orgasming at the thought of all the money they hope to make. Meanwhile, as the economic crisis bites, the city is in the grip of a hidden housing crisis with 20,000 people on the council housing list and fuck knows how many in overcrowded or sub-standard housing.

The media are just either unable or unwilling to join the dots and ask the questions.