In the same way as old family photo albums can make people cringe, so it must be with those seeking to shift perceptions of Liverpool when TV producers raid their archives.

They can take their pick from Z Cars to Brookside, to Boys from the Blackstuff to countless comedies.

And, if any of these fictional creations don’t tick their boxes, the researchers can move across to the news archive where there must be enough material from the last four decades to feed even the hungriest news monsters.

Not a lot of this is good news, of course, such is the agenda set by our media and such has been this city’s ability to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The perceptions persist, but even those who held them with the strongest resolve must be weakening by now.

Think back to mid-July and the announcement that Jaguar production was to cease at Halewood. A few years ago, this would have been reported in such a way as to tarnish Merseyside.

That’s partly because periods of industrial strife in this country’s motor manufacturing industry were a way of life. And Liverpool’s disputes seemed, somehow, to get more airtime than others.

Of course, circumstances have changed, and Jaguar’s grave news reflects the global economic crisis and the fact they are building a model that’s never been a hit in the showrooms.

However, it was reported in a way that reflected more badly on the UK Government than on our skilled workforce.

Remember this newspaper’s headline on the day the announcement was made that Jaguar production was heading to Halewood?

It was a decision made on evidence of quality levels demonstrated by the workforce.

“The Cream That Got the Cat” ran the Page One lead. A classic that reflects the way workers at the plant had succeeded in changing the perception others had of them and their predecessors. In this territory, it’s  not always what’s being said as much as who’s doing the talking.

Into this category, straight in at number one, must go Sir Terry Leahy.

His chart topper is: “There was that element of Scouse chippiness, that history of HR strife, that meant Liverpool was low on the list of places people were looking to invest. But that’s changed now. Businesses are prepared to listen. And that means the city must take advantage.”