Clickbait Journalism Baked In a Trinity Mirror and Greggs Shaped Pie

A number of journalists across Trinity Mirror’s regional newspaper operation have expressed disgust at being forced into writing speculative articles regarding the possibility of a drive-thru Greggs bakery opening in their regions.

This is despite the fact that Greggs have no plans as yet to open any drive-thru branches of their bakery business beyond a trial operation in Salford near Manchester.

An unnamed journalist told The Press Gazette there was a “three-line whip” from Trinity Mirror bosses to produce a localized version of the story, which first appeared in the Manchester Evening News, across the various regions.

The source stated the journalists were “appalled and angry” at having to produce such content and viewed the article as little more than “clickbait”.

The Leicester Mercury, The Grimsby Telegraph, The Liverpool Echo, Lincolnshire Live and The Bristol Post all towed the lined and asked the question: Is a drive-thru Greggs coming to town?

The answer, after a great deal of going around the houses, was a resounding “no”.

A spokesperson for Trinity Mirror denied the acquisitions of promoting clickbait-style journalism and stated: “Many of our newsrooms produce upwards of 100 stories a day – it’s very easy to pick one or two which don’t meet personal preferences.

“Our titles aim to be a part of people’s everyday lives, and we are proud of the wide range of articles we produce every day and the fact we put reader views at the heart of our work online.”

At a time when questions are being asked about the quality and trustworthiness of local newspapers, particularly when editorial cuts are forcing editors to make difficult decisions about the content their publications carry, should they be carrying such speculative, nonsensical, spun-out stories?

Or perhaps Trinity Mirror underestimates their readership in the regions. Do they really think that misleading headlines about a shop that sells sausage rolls and steak bakes will get their audience hungry for real news? Like Greggs’ pie crusts – this approach to quality journalism is flaky and perhaps demonstrates the local press has hit the (soggy) bottom.