Community Life

When East End Life comes through the letterboxes of homes in Tower Hamlets it looks like any other free local newspaper.

In fact, the paper is made by Tower Hamlets Council. It costs £1.3 million to produce and distribute, of which £340,000 is covered by the council and the remainder is paid for through advertising revenue.

Local newspaper East London Advertiser has carried a series of articles attacking the cost and editorial agenda of the Council’s free paper.

Council's paper - East End Life

"No local authority in the UK produces a weekly paid newspaper. East End Life is unique," said the editor of the East London Advertiser, Malcolm Starbrook.

Almost 70% of people have answered 'yes' to a poll on the East London Advertiser's website asking, "Is 'East End Life' free paper a waste of money?"

Tower Hamlets Councillor Siraj Islam told BBC London that if East End Life did not exist, the council's advertising costs would increase.

He said: "East End Life saves the Council a million pounds a year from the advertising we would have to do if it did not exist."

But Malcolm Starbrook said that this would equate to 44 full pages of advertising in his newspaper every week, which would be unrealistic.

Malcolm Starbrook

Peddling the party line?

The Local Government Act says that a local authority should not publish material that is likely to influence voting patterns in favour of a particular political party. East London Advertiser's editor, Malcolm Starbrook, says that East End Life may be breaching the Act.

He told BBC London: "Before last year's election East End Life carried columns by both Labour MPs, Jim Fitzpatrick and Oona King. When Oona lost to George Galloway, the columns were dropped and not replaced.

"Also, Housing Choice is probably the most contentious issue in Tower Hamlets at the moment, but you will not have seen a critical word about it in East End Life."

Printing presses on

A separate investigation by the Competition Commission into newspaper company Archant's buyout of some local titles stated that East End Life provided healthy competition, according to a spokesperson from Tower Hamlets Council.

The paper also won an Institute of Public Relations award in 2004 for best civic newspaper/magazine.

Councillor Islam says that in an effort to reduce the costs to the council, East End Life will be expanded to increase the scope for advertising revenue.

To watch Angela’s report about the dispute over East End Life, click on the link at the top right of this page.

What do you think about East End Life? Email angela.saini@bbc.co.uk with your views.