EKG is Dead long live KM Sittingbourne

East Kent Gazette goes out with a whimper

Last week it was announced that the EKG would close and I like many others were shocked and disappointed to lose a local paper I even wrote a thank you letter to them. They said they would produce a bumper edition for their last edition! What we got was a paper thinner then normal and costing an extra 15p.

On hindsight it was not surprising that the EKG folded it consisted mainly of advertising and very little on local news and seemed in the last few years that reporters had their own agenda whether it was political or nepotism.  I have felt that since John Rogers stepped down as editor in the late 1990’s the paper changed from being an all round general local news to a more selective items newspaper. The new editor Christine Raynor had left leaning views in my opinion and this showed in some of the articles and letters that appeared, when Labour Derek Wyatt got elected she must have been ecstatic eventually the EKG referred to Wyatt as “Our Del” some what surprising title from a so called independent paper but not all the blame of the failure of the EKG lies at her feet it seems with the changing of ownership did not help.

I was once told that I had sent more letters in then any other individual yet my last letter of thanks were reduced to a few lines, the last few years I have sent a multitude of letters in and I think I had 4 published in the 18 months. When challenged I was told the people of Sittingbourne are not interested in what I have to say! Yet I am often stopped in the street and told liked your letter or have not seen you in the Gazette recently. I believe it was because I told it as it was in language ordinary people could understand

Since e the mid 1950’s our Young Judo Club and the other Martial Arts we do were regular contributors to the EKG and I have to be very honest we have most probably the most successful club  in the town in them 55 years maybe we did not deserve an individual well done but why could they not have put “we have had thriving Martial Arts scene” No they put something about a motorbike rider winning Two British Championships in the 55 years our club has won many hundreds of British Titles also European and World Championships. Let’s not forget the success of the Weightlifting clubs in the town how many World Powers lifting Championships have the town had? The local Brickies Football Team get a lot of news and what have they won? Even to the last they were disingenuous by not printing our reports on the MMA competition and Jamie’s Gold Medal in the “Save the Heroes”

The coverage

Yet after all my moans I was still sad to see them! Well I was until heard that the KM Group are putting out a Sittingbourne Edition the only thing is I hope they do not employ the same staff they had on the EKG. So Good Riddance to the EKG