Council newspaper

L Barnett made this Freedom of Information request to Mid Suffolk District Council

The request was successful.

From: L Barnett

3 January 2010

Dear Mid Suffolk District Council,

Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, I wish to
receive the following information from your authority:

1. The name, frequency and distribution/circulation of your council
newspaper (by council newspaper I mean the most frequently
published newspaper or magazine intended for mass distribution
covering more than one topic)

2. How much it cost to produce and distribute said newspaper in the
last full financial year, and how much was budgeted from council
resources in the financial year 2009/2010

3. How much of that cost is offset by advertising

4. How much of that advertising, if any, comes from external
sources (ie not from your authority's budgets)?

5. Which other public sector partners pay to run advertising in
your newspaper, eg PCTs?

6. Whether recruitment advertising forms part of the advertising in
your newspaper?

7. A copy of an editorial policy guide, if one exists, which
governs the material which is placed in the newspaper, and how it
is decided

8. A copy of an advertising policy guide, if one exists, which
governs what sort of advertising is suitable.

9. The number of people employed to put your newspaper/newsletter
together, including total cost and staff organisation chart

Some parts of this request may be easier to answer than others, and
should this prove to be the case I would ask that you release
available data as soon as possible rather than hold up the entire
request.

I would prefer to receive this information electronically. If the
decision is made to withhold some of this data using exemptions in
Act, please inform me of that fact and cite the exemptions used.

If you need any clarification then please contact me at the email.
Under your section 16 duty to provide advice and assistance I would
expect you to contact me if you find this request unmanageable in
any way.

I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have
received this request, and I look forward to hearing from you in
the near future.

Yours faithfully,

L Barnett

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From: Valerie Coe
Mid Suffolk District Council

4 January 2010

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request below.

I have passed your request on to the relevant Officer and will respond as soon as I am able. As you are probably aware the Act allows 20 working days for response giving a deadline of 29 January but I hope to be able to reply before that date.

Regards

Val Coe
Freedom of Information Officer
Mid Suffolk District Council
131 High Street
Needham Market
IP6 8DL

Telephone: 01449 724673
E-mail: [email address]

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From: Valerie Coe
Mid Suffolk District Council

5 January 2010

I am now able to reply to your FoI request below and have given the answers in the order of the questions.

1. Mid Suffolk Messenger
Frequency: annually
Circulation: Approx 40,000 (one per household)

2. The magazine was produced using the budget of £10,000 set for 2009/10 (to include design, printing and distribution)

3. No pre-paid advertising is currently offered in the magazine

4. M/A

5. N/A

6. N/A

7. An editorial guide does not exist. The magazine is produced annually and used to communicate the Couincil's achievements and priorities for the
forthcoming year. Content is decided by the Senior Communications oFficer alongside the Chief Executive.

8. No advertising policy exists

9. The Council does not employ a dedicated Officer to produce the magazine, it is part of the Senior Communications Officer's role.

If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled you may ask for an internal review. Please contact me at the address below if you wish to request a review. If you are not happy with the outcome of the internal review you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow SK9 5AF

Val Coe
Freedom of Information Officer
Mid Suffolk District Council
131 High Street
Needham Market
IP6 8DL

Telephone: 01449 724673
E-mail: [email address]

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