Fixture: cross words

Well, well, well. It's been nothing if not interesting in the world of PR this week, as local rag the South Manchester Reporter has tried its damndest to stir things up out in the sleepy suburbs.
A week ago, Chorlton Arts Festival held its first-ever catwalk show, in association with Oxfam, in St Clement's Church. The venue was packed out and the event ran mainly smoothly, with models taking to a runway in the nave! The Eco Fashion Show, as it was dubbed, aimed to promote sustainability and challenge waste in the fashion world, and five local labels and up-and-coming student designers showed varied collections of recycled, customised and revitalised vintage numbers. The message? That secondhand does not have to mean second best.
It went down a storm, and, impressed with the efforts of the designers, stylists, models and show producers, I wrote a press release on behalf of Chorlton Arts Festival to accompany a shoot that local photographer Sam Fairbrother (www.samfairbrother.com) organised to promote the show. The images and release were sent to the South Manchester Reporter, who were keen to run a story supporting the event and the festival, and extending the positive environmentally friendly message.
Unfortunately, bitter cynical hacks that they obviously are, the SMR journalists failed to live up to their promise and instead focused their attention on trying to cause an outcry about some of the photographs, which show the church's cross in the background (er, hello... the event was held in a church). Hmm, there was me thinking that the local paper supported local events run voluntarily by local people, but obviously I was stupidly naive.
Still in the interests of me giving you a well-balanced story, see http://www.southmanchesterreporter.co.uk/news/s/1116538_did_snapper_cross_the_line
If you must.