UK's Local Press in crisis (despite another PIcture of the week from me)

Another week and another (number 5) Picture of the week by me published in the Ealing Gazette - this one's  about continuity if it's about anything.
The photograph was taken with the Canon SX 280HS which I bought recently.

This week's Gazette

The pre-cropped picture that was submitted

And the text

In my communications with the editorial at the Gazette I have the impression that they have an ongoing struggle with the resources to produce a paper (perhaps not a total surprise)  it's recently gone free to all readers and I'm not sure how the advertising can pay for production and distribution over the long term but I hope it continues and not just for the selfish reason of seeing my pictures published.

Some people have been suggesting that the BBC is to blame for the demise of the Local newspaper in the UK  but to be honest I think the analysis from James Harding  laying the blame at the Facebooks, Ebays  and Gumtree type on-line services is more accurate -  the problem being that  they have become the home to what was the lucrative classified sections the press used to rely on.
Not only that but increasingly readers in the wake of 'The Metro' and The Standard  tend to expect free local papers or they get the 'Pravda' council news according to what Mr 'Local minister  Pickles says.

A friend,  Simon Perry started an alternative to the traditional paper copy with a blog serving the Isle of Wight (at first the Ventnor Blog) a few years back (seven I think)  and it seems to be going well it now targets  the whole Island - it takes dedication to get a project like this going  but perhaps it's a model for local news that would work in other areas.

Be a real shame to lose the local rag as it does (potentially) serve its readers in a way that radio and TV can not, I'm doing my bit anyway with a steady supply of free (to the paper) pictures.