Blaming the press will not get us a cinema (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Blaming the press will not get us a cinema

12:24pm Wednesday 3rd March 2010 in

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AS far as newspapers are concerned deadlines cannot be missed. So perhaps it is because of this that we believe time limits, when set, should always be met.

Despite claiming he does not issue deadlines, cinema entrepreneur James Hannaway has missed quite a few.

We all understand the logistical problems behind his plan and fortunately for him, most of the city is behind his proposal to bring a cinema back to St Albans.

However, when things go wrong he really should steer clear of blaming the press.

Last week in a statement he said he “wanted all money to be collected by Friday February 26th”.

As usual a Review reporter was on to this first and duly wrote an article.

I can only assume that it soon became apparent that this deadline was not going to be met so Mr Hannaway changed his statement to: “Time is still tight.

“It is still a very short deadline – and must be before the end of February – next Sunday.”

Collecting this amount of money must be very difficult so no eyebrows were raised when this happened.

However, we were extremely surprised when he alleged that the Review had made the earlier story up.

We challenged this and once again his statement was changed.

It seems Mr Hannaway is used to getting his own way and when he does not get it will happily blame anyone else.

No doubt my opinion on this matter will sour our relationship further but perhaps, more importantly, it will dispel the myth that local newspapers are continually looking for negative angles.

The Review has backed Mr Hannaway’s plans from the very beginning.

However, it has been incredibly difficult to establish the facts surrounding this story as Mr Hannaway is particularly difficult to get hold of, almost elusive.

Whenever I read one of his statements I cannot help but believe it is being written by a person who believes the press are out to get him.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

It would be a wonderful achievement to restore the Odeon back to its former glory, but Mr Hannaway should refrain from pointing his finger elsewhere when he encounters the odd hiccup.

He seems quite trigger happy with his statements so perhaps a more considered approach would be beneficial to all concerned.

As far as the Review is concerned there is no ulterior motive.

We aim to put the facts before our readers, who are intelligent enough to make their own minds up.

It is good news that so many people are backing this wonderful idea but our readers deserve to know when something goes wrong and it is our duty to tell them.