LOCAL JOURNALIST NAMED AS ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED IN THE UK BY HIS PEERS AS THE SALFORD STAR FIGHTS FOR IT'S SURVIVAL

Be that sniffing out the facts and figures for the Salford Stars latest reveal of corruption and ineptness in the City, or in more recent times just struggling to keep his much loved publication afloat.

There is no man more dedicated to a cause than he.

Over the years it is safe to say that The Salford Star has acquired many many followers, sadly it has also drawn the attention of a fair few very powerful haters who have deservedly been negatively focused in many of its articles, and rightly so as the publication has exposed scandal after scandal and stands proudly on the front lines in its defence of those who need it most.

It is this dedication to honesty and integrity that has earned him the respect of not only the people of his home City but also that of his fellow Journalists up and down the country and if we are being honest here, far beyond.

Stephen's name was recently added to this years list after members of the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) recognised him as being someone who embodies the broad and varied style of journalism they adhere too.

So to see Kingston's name honoured alongside such names as Peter Hitchen's, Faisal Islam, Owen Jones and many others is quite a big deal as it shows he has clearly earned the respect given, the "Radical Traditionalist" has done well.

Sadly it is not all good news for Stephen as it increasingly looks like the Star may succumb to the same fate as SalfordOnline did a couple of years back, lack of revenue from advertisers forcing its closure. I mentioned above that there are a few powerful haters out there and unfortunately many seem to have an influence large enough to make potential advertisers look away from the Star.

Cash flow has always been a problem with small local publications up and down the country, local press has been decimated by the much mightier media outlets with far deeper pockets that seem to have a monopoly in most areas. It is all rather sad to be honest as sometimes the smaller stories get overlooked and never see print as for the big hitters its all about eyeballs on ads.

In response to be told he had been named, Stephen responded by saying:

Quote

"It's a huge honour but unfortunately you can't eat a list

"The Salford Star is out of money at the end of November and is in danger of shutting down.

"So if anyone's got a job going as a Christmas elf or wants some leaves sweeping, let us know."

So unless Stephen can find the funding to keep the show on the road it looks like the Salford Star will cease to exist, which for this City would be a travesty. The Salford Star has fought the corner of many a Salfordian in its time and so it is now time that WE fight to keep this 13 year old Salford Institution alive.

As part of that fight, former Sounds of Salford DJ and local Charity fund raiser, Simon Williams has pulled together a Benefit CD featuring tracks from some fantastic local bands in order to help raise money for the Star.

The Album titled "All materials of value have been removed" features some fantastic tracks from the likes of Benefit State, The Moods, Nicola Greenwood, The Ascension, Cinnamon Dinner and many more.

All proceeds from the Sale of the CD goes to the Salford Star and it costs just £6.50 including postage and packaging from the Stars online shop..

http://www.salfordstar.com/support.asp

Whilst you are there you should check out their iconic hoodies, sweatshirts and back issues too.

All money from sales goes to help the Salford Star continue to be able to serve the people of Salford for longer.

You don't even have to buy anything as you can just donate if you have a few spare quid in your bank account doing nothing. Put it to good use and help support local journalism in Salford before another bites the dust.

Image: A Salford Star volunteer hands out copies of the magazine at Eccles Metrolink