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Mark Twain, Napoleon and fatal newspaper mistakes

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

“If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed.”

Mark Twain had a knack for overstatement, but you wonder if there was ever a golden age of the newspapers, and if so, what it looked like.  In Scotland, it’s seldom looked like it has this week.

Some weeks ago, Graham Spiers, writing in The Herald, made reference to comments he claimed a Newco director made about the Billy Boys song.  Spiers didn’t name the director, but questioned the club’s board’s willingness to tackle offensive behaviour.

The Billy Boys were a Glasgow razor gang from the 1920s and 30s, named after their leader, Billy Fullerton.  Glasgow was one of the poorest cities in the industrial world, with high unemployment and mortality rates, squalid housing conditions and what we would now term disaffected young people who drifted into criminal gangs.  The Billy Boys were known as a Protestant gang (there were similar Catholic gangs) and started going along to watch Rangers, and singing their signature tune, in the 20s.

So far, so anthropologic.  The song, the gangs, the disaffected masses were a product of their time, but the song persisted through the decades, including the “up to our knees in Fenian blood” third line.  It was the mood music to employment practices at Ibrox from the 20s until 1989.

Scotland has changed enormously since then.  We are a genuinely plural society, not one scandalised by “mixed marriages”.  The vast majority of people don’t care who or what you are, boundaries have been pushed back, there is a fairly level playing field, no matter your creed or colour.  All of this change brought focus to the Billy Boys song, it’s not the mood music to modern Scotland, or to ANY Rangers fans I know.

I couldn’t care less about the song.  For me, it is a millstone around the neck of Newco, as it was of Oldco.  It drags them down to a place they can ill-afford to be.  It offends (not alone in football), has a criminal legacy (not alone in football), but it’s unique quality is that third line.  You can’t say that about any group of people anymore.

Spiers has put his neck on the block over sectarianism at Ibrox repeatedly over the years.  He wrote about his recent experience at Ibrox, expressed an opinion, and submitted his copy.

The club complained.  Football clubs complain lots about many things.  There’s a set answer newspapers give to these complaints: “It was an opinion piece”.  They never retract or apologise for “an opinion piece”.

I’m 100% certain The Herald’s first response to Newco was “it’s an opinion piece”.  This would normally have been the end of it, but on Wednesday The Herald issued an apology.

Spiers then became a blogger to explain “My opinion – as expressed in my column – was based on a truthful account of my meeting with a Rangers director.”

Who you believe is irrelevant for this topic.  The only relevance is that within a 24 hour period, The Herald and Evening Times group changed how they deal with criticisms of an opinion piece – and then used six degrees of separation to drag Celtic into a sectarian headline.

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“Ex-Celtic player in dock for sectarianism”, screamed the Evening Times, using the Celtic badge into the bargain.  A woman is on trial for allegedly making a sectarian comment on Facebook.  She once played for Celtic under-19s, never the senior ladies team.  She doesn’t play for Celtic Ladies under-19s (or any age group) anymore, and didn’t a year ago when she made this comment.  She never held an employed position at the club.

An amateur, juvenile, registered with the club who are a member of the Women’s Association.  Fill your boots, Evening Times.  The apology will do them no favours with any constituency, it will cost them more readers in each than sticking to their guns would have.  Reacting by grasping onto something so tenuous to drag Celtic into the murky waters was unconscionable.

They do not report in this manner elsewhere.  Headlines for court appearances never lead with the person’s club memberships, “Prestwick Golf Club member in driving ban”?   You’ll never read this.

One very good political journalist once told me “The football content pays my wages”.  That being the case, The Herald’s already difficult job to survive has been enormously undermined.  Spiers also explained “the pressure brought upon the newspaper became severe”.  They can ill-afford to lose advertising revenue streams, or readers.

Napoleon once said, “‘Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets”.  He’s been dead a long time, though.  Newspapers can now make themselves impotent in an afternoon.

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  3. clunks on

    THE_HUDDLE on 29TH JANUARY 2016 9:35 PM

     

    Of course the assumption is that the ad revenue couldn’t be gained from other sources, even 50-80% of the Parks amount

     

     

    – See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/mark-twain-napoleon-and-fatal-newspaper-mistakes/comment-page-11/#comments

     

     

    =================

     

     

    Ad revenue is maxed out at a company like the herald and is in the main the largest producer of revenue in a newspaper. taking a hit like that if its in the millions would not be considered.

     

     

    Had a talk today with a guy that deals with many newspapers up and down the country and his thoughts on the larger papers is that they are controlled by dinosaurs (or bean counters) they remember the good old days of huge revenues flowing in week in week out.

     

     

    In our current climate this is not possible and in the main they cut staff to keep profits high (anyone get sacked today??)

     

     

    This leads to a product that is inferior and less engaging and advertisers get a smaller response for their pound. Its a vicious circle and is compunded by the drive to maximise online revenue!

  5. North Cyprus (formerly Baku) Bhoy on

    BOB O’ BALDY on 29TH JANUARY 2016 9:37 PM

     

    Cannae believe we have just got ourselves another fecking winger. Just at the point when GMS, SA and CMcG are coming onto a game, we go and get another person to compete for a place in the stands.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    What the hell is going on? Are Celtic part of some daft billionaires lab experiment? How much disharmony can you create at a football club and still be in contention to win your domestic league?

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Sad times!

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Yet another example of moneyball failure.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid,…, I could go on…

     

     

    – See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/mark-twain-napoleon-and-fatal-newspaper-mistakes/comment-page-11/#comments

     

    ===========================================================================

     

     

    Absholutely agree! God knows what our Development Squad Lhads are thinking tonight!

     

     

    HH

  14. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Baku Bhoy and bobo

     

     

    How many of our squad never mind the kids are worth 4m

     

     

    We need to nurture our young like Henderson by sending them on loan

     

    We are, unfortunately a Hibs to the English multi millionaire clubs

     

    Even I can’t blame PL for that

  16. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Roy

     

    Can you repost the OHG picks as I didn’t read last Friday

     

    On my 2nd bottle of red so maybe not last too long

  22. TheLurkinTim on

    Posting on here is getting harder than it is to find a rational logical zombie groupie

     

     

    H.H.

     

     

    KeepgettingkickedoutffsCSC

  23. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    The lurkingtim

     

    Adlocker is great, no problem since using it

     

    Took me ages to realise I had to use the browser but no adds since

  26. WeefratheTim on

    Cot time for me. Up half the night last night, hoping for a nights sleep tonight. Not holding my breath, high winds have just started and set to continue throughout the night. :-(((( Night Night. HH

  29. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Weefra

     

    Promised snow hasn’t materialised yet in G72

     

    Take care wee man

  30. big archie on

    Roy.

     

    Superb as always.

     

    Hope all is well.

     

    Looking forward to Sunday and first leg of treble although I dislike Hampden.

     

    One request please…..Tinsel Town In The Rain…

     

    MlL5 facing the storm.

     

    Let the people sing….

  34. WeefratheTim on

    BT

     

     

    Cheers buddy, snow due overnight. Glad to meet you again at the last game. :-)))) luv to my wonderful ghirls. HH

  35. Greenpinata on

    Turkeybhoy@ 9.06 hrs pm.

     

     

    Totally agree. Maybe the most price tagged player to ever appear in Scotland.

     

     

    HH.

  36. clunks on

    Read back on my posts and am not sticking up for the herald as what they have done is despicable.

     

     

    I understand why they have done it as they are run by bean counters.

     

     

    The solution? More independent media….

  38. leftclicktic on

    Catching up ,

     

    banter,pics twitter & transfer updates and of course friday night music ,moving hearts & niel young brought back memories of friends no longer here,

     

    CQN is alive and well

     

    ps good night weefra

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