You scroll your feed. You see Cummins logos on every sponsored event. You see breathless puff pieces in local papers. You pay subscription fees to read news that smells like adverts. It’s relentless. It’s shameless. It’s the new normal.
Engines Fueled by Impunity
Cummins builds diesel beasts. They boast innovation. They sponsor AI panels and housing initiatives. They lecture on sustainability whilst hiding past sins and still still building the unsustainable. Their press releases, each one dressed as “news.” Each one a shield against real questions. They churn them out. New engine, new partnership, new promise. But behind the polished veneer lies a company used to running with impunity. They know how to spin. They know how to bury bad headlines under a tsunami of marketing copy. They know that most legacy outlets lack the time or spine to dig deeper. They pay for that silence.
The Echo’s Paywall Circus
Then there’s the local rag. The Northern Echo. You subscribe. You pay. They ask you to cough up for “trusted journalism”. You think you’re getting honest reporting. Instead you find advertorial dressed as journalism. “Cummins backs AI.” “Cummins partners with Durham University.” You swipe your card to see the “news,” only to read content that anyone could find in a press release. You pay to read their adverts. You pay subscription fees so they can peddle puff pieces you could sniff out yourself. They host events, invite sponsors, and then run fawning write-ups. You pay. They profit. They pretend they’re serving you insight. Really they’re serving the highest bidder.
Sponsorship Over Substance
Local papers tighten their belts. Advertising budgets shrink. They chase sponsors. They chase subscriptions. They pack pages with sponsored content. They slap “SPONSORED” in tiny print at the top of paid-for positivity, if you even spot it. They promise reach. They promise credibility. They sell you a seat at panels, a by-line in event coverage, a fleeting mention on a webpage. All for a fee. And you pay, convinced it’s journalism. Meanwhile real stories go unreported: the tribunal battles, the emissions lawsuits, the supplier slip-ups. Those aren’t profitable. They’re risky. So they slip between the cracks.
Press Releases as Proxy Journalism
Cummins feeds them lines. A new technology here. A CSR initiative there. Photos of “executives”innovators” shaking hands. Reporters copy without question. The by-line carries the paper’s masthead, but the words echo the PR department. You read it, nod along, think you’re informed. You’re not. You’re served spin. Real scrutiny? Absent. Instead you see headlines trumpeting zero-emission goals while engines driven by questionable parts rattle down the road. You hear promises of diversity and inclusion, even as tribunal cases whisper a different story. The media shrug: “We reported what they gave us.” And you, the paying reader, swallow it.
The Illusion of Accountability
Cummins revels in the illusion. They sponsor panels on AI to show they’re cutting-edge. They trumpet sustainability reports that glint on glossy pages. They trot out quotations from friendly academics and council figures. “Look, we’re on the path to tomorrow”. But the path ignores yesterday’s wreckage: the Darlington mismanagement, the supplier scandals, the legal skirmishes. They know they can count on papers like the Echo to repeat their lines, not challenge them. They know most readers won’t demand better. They know outrage flickers briefly, then fades under the next sponsored headline.
Your Role: Demand Substance
You can refuse to be a passive consumer. Skip the paywall when it’s just spin. Seek the raw documents. Search for news yourself. This isn’t a Darlington issue. There’s evidence of Cummins reaching outlets far beyond. Question every “article” that reads too nicely. Call out the adverts masquerading as news. Share independent exposés. Show proof. Make legacy media squirm: expose the shallow sponsorship deals, highlight the conflicts of interest, ask why the real stories never see print. Demand transparency. Force them to choose: uphold journalism or chase ad revenue? Force outlets to choose, sponsorship money or subscription money. Selling bullshit is not a business model, it’s a con.
Why It Matters
This isn’t just about one company or one paper. It’s about the ecosystem: corporate money buys silence. Subscription revenue props up hollow content. The result: power hides in plain sight. Cummins avoids scrutiny. The Echo and its ilk survive by selling adverts dressed as articles. You fund the cycle. Breaking it requires ferocity. Expose the racket. Publish the facts. Drain the swamp of complacency.
The Hard Truth
Cummins acts with impunity because the press lets them. The Northern Echo and others pack their pockets with sponsorship and subscription fees but deliver little more than press releases in fancy wrappers. They ask you to pay to read their adverts. They champion the brand while burying the backlash. It’s a raw deal. And until you call them out, it will stay that way.
Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project