And so the Sussex Express finally decides to give some proper coverage to the Phoenix Development. And how do they do it? Do they give us a balanced view of the possible benefits and possible pitfalls of the project? No. Do they investigate the consequences of suddenly plonking nearly 800 homes into a small area of Lewes and increasing the population by at least 15% in one fell swoop? No. Do they look into the past dealings of Angel Properties to see how they have played their hand in other large developments in the past? No. Do they fulfil their mother company ‘Johnstone Press’ proud boast that all their local papers deliver news which ‘informs and reflects the important issues of the communities they serve’. No, no, no. The first three pages of last week’s Sussex Express gave off a strong whiff of being a lazy rewrite of a press release by Angel Properties. Grandiose drawings provided by the company accompanied the piece. Pro-development rhetoric was dealt out in ladlefuls in the headlines and captions. Even any potential opposition - from the watchdog body Lewes Matters - was disabled by a misrepresented quote, used and abused in the headline and front paragraph of a piece which seemed to be placed there to pay fake lip service to any voice of opposition to the project. This was one of the laziest, most poodle-like pieces of journalism we have seen in a long time. Lewes needs a local rag. And it needs that rag to have a voice. But please, less of the sycophantic yes-man noises. Enjoy the week.