Fredericton — The long-running Coffee News newspaper claimed in their latest issue that Turner Bros. Siding Company are the “best siders in New Brunswick,” a statement that has come under fire recently in many parts of the Fredericton Zone 1 area.
“Sure, the The Turners did fine work on the house,” said Matthew Taylor, a homeowner who hired the Turner Bros. in 2006. “But the siding for my camp was done by a friend of my sister, and he did it much quicker. Cheaper, too.”
A clear testimonial from a Turner Bros. customer that the company does not, in fact, have the “best siders in all of New Brunswick.”
For the past several years, the respected Coffee News newspaper has struggled to stay competitive in the digital media market, and has consequently turned their focus to flashy attention-grabbers like cursive fonts and cream-colored printing paper, rather than bringing the people of New Brunswick the hard news they deserve and want to know. These new bells and whistles have not come cheap, and there have been longstanding rumours concerning the influence of advertisers on what the paper publishes.
Amid the controversy, Mike Turner of Turner Bros. Siding Co. issued the following statement: “We did not, and would never, try to financially influence the press for the purpose of advertising. The opinions expressed by the Coffee News corporation do not necessarily reflect those of the Turner Bros. Siding Company.”
Regarding the effect that such claims have on those in the siding community, Matthew Taylor’s sister’s friend Jeremy Saunders said he feels that the the assertion in Coffee News has done irreparable damage to his business.
“If the public is lead to believe that the Turner Brothers are the best siders in town, who will hire a small-business man like me?” asked Saunders. “You work so hard to make a name for yourself in this business, and the suits come and and ruin you in one lousy sentence.”
After the Turner Bros. incident, all recent Coffee News reporting has been called into question. For example, are there really 36 black keys on a piano? How can we be sure our lucky numbers are 15, 19, 34, 45 and 47? Coffee News publisher Jared Dunham could not be reached for comment.