British Newspaper Decides Even Gibberish is More Interesting than Council Politics

Bedfordshire’s Times & Citizen newspaper, which has a free circulation of 58,565, accidentally ran the above front cover on their June 3rd issue. And no, “headghgh” isn’t just some Scottish thing: This is a genuine screwup.

According to PressGazette, the flubbed front page may be the byproduct of a new production system that allows reporters to directly input stories into newspaper layouts, saving money on the likes of copyeditors and production editors, but removing the gatekeepers who normally prevent mistakes of this magnitude.

In this week’s edition of the paper, out today, the front page carries the words “headline headghgh” with the words “strapline for main story like this if needed”. The paper has a free distribution 58,565 to homes in the Bedfordshire area.

The error comes as journalists across Johnston Press mull group-wide strike action in protest against staffing levels and the introduction of the Atex production system.

Press Gazette understands that Atex, which allows reporters to input stories directly on to page layouts, has been introduced across Johnston Press titles in the south of England.

In April, the NUJ blamed the “rushed” introduction of Atex for a major production error at paid-for daily newspaper the Sheffield Star.

If you’re interested, here’s the original Times & Citizen story.

(via PhotoshopDisasters, PressGazette)