I'm not sure what the job of the EEN is.
As a business it has to make sure it survives - getting people to buy, and advertise in, it - which obviously becomes more of a problem due to general economics and the fact that more people are reading it online. Journalistically it can therefore tend to be a bit tabloid/sensationalist to grab the readers.
The Council is always an easy target. Though one problem here - for councils, newspapers and the public - is that 'the council' is both the councillors (or at least the ones in 'power') and the staff. Just because the councillors have a policy (good or bad) doesn't mean it will get implemented. There are plenty of services that run just fine without political 'interference' and others where, at times, there needs to be a bit more political leadership.
But then it's a large organisation run by people with different ideas.
Over the years the EEN has always seemed to be a bit 'motorist friendly'. Whether this is because it 'reflects the views of its readers', or the general, car loving, British public or as a way of being argumentative against 'the council' is never clear.
Today there's a piece headed "Edinburgh City Council's half-term report card: Coalition in the spotlight" which is (perhaps) surprisingly uncritical.
It contains the striking sentence -
"Efforts to encourage cycling have also been good."
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Edinburgh-City-Council39s-halfterm-report.6030720.jp
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