“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.
“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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Ops GG , not GM.
Does the Herald Group advertise at CP?
Mr Pastry 4.09pm
Didn’t you get a red card the other week in one of your various newco guises, Fred Quimby?
You are right to say that the average Hun will claim to believe what they want when it come to their being a newco, much in the same way that a seven year old kid clings to the dream that Santa Claus is real even though, deep down, they know it isn’t so.
Maybe our club shouldn’t be releasing statements on it. But our majority shareholder could stop referring to them as a great club with great history and fans and gibbering about how much we look forward to playing them again.
Our assistant manager could stop his verbal diarrhoea about missing them.
And in the event that they get promoted to the SPFL we could speak to the truth in the following ways-
– no change to season book prices/ u13 and u16 admission for the 2 games v the newco
– matchday programme refers to them by the name submitted on their SFA membership papers of 2012 (rangers international the rangers or whatever flag of desperation they choose) and only lists the honours the newco has once since inception in 2012. Preferably juxtaposed against the honours won fairly and squarely by Celtic.especially the Big Cup.
No need for grandstanding or crapping it from what those big bad Huns might do if you tell the truth.
So why did Magnus Llewellin as editor allow the piece to be published in the first instance? Surely, an editor is there to ensure that what is published in a paper is well founded and defensible?
Broadhooves was a regular on Clyde before he got that comms gig.
Oh for a wee Jimmy again.
Were you at the game caller?
BadaB
Aye, they might mention it, but they won’t delve into it, as you say, compliant cowards.
HH
are there any journalists left who aren’t intimidated/Huns?
herald statement sounds a bit like:-
‘the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play’ J Aitken
We all know how that went…..
Herald editor – “we shall continue to report on the pressing issues of the day without fear or favour”
This is the rag that has in recent history employed Jabba, darryl Broadfoot and Richard Wilson. And which currently has Chris jack, matt Lindsay and Martin Williams on the payroll.
This guy is having a giraffe.
BILLYBEAR @ 4.10
Fair play to you.
We all know its not right.
There is no free press in this country.
Sadly.
HH
COOLMORE MAFIA on 29TH JANUARY 2016 4:26 PM
are there any journalists left who aren’t intimidated/Huns?
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/mark-twain-napoleon-and-fatal-newspaper-mistakes/comment-page-4/#comment-2763383
Sports,Spence,Haggerty,,various bans for BBC hacks….
Did the parks motor group not withdraw £10,000 of advertising from the Herald over Spiers story?
The reporting of the “happenings” at the Herald make me smile. They give me a sense of vindication…..
…..you see I was a long time Glasgow Herald reader and chose, back in the mid-1990s, to stop buying it and moving to reading the Times (not the Evening variety).
Why?? The Glasgow Hearld decided to employ a journalist in its football department who had a “knack”, shall we say, for producing and peddling what I considered to be propaganda and mis-information about Celtic, while suitably promoting and extolling the virtues of another team. I got sick of it and voted with my feet.
Anyone care to guess on the Journo? And btw it ISNT anyone with L5 clearance.
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/01/29/nuj-condemns-herald-pandering-mob-mentality-departure-angela-haggerty-and-graham
Leftclicktic
I read somewhere it was 40k , anyway regarding spending your money, papers internet car dealerships and phone ins rely on people listening buying and clicking, if you dont like what they do/say then withdraw your money from.
Dessybhoy
Thank you.
and still our Plc gives the Parks mob money
shakes head fae side to side
Erskinetim 4.36pm
Was it ken Gallacher by any chance?
The best part of 20 years ago I was studying journalism at a certain university in Scotland. One day we got a visiting lecture from a guy called David hardie who was then, and who I believe still is, the hibs reporter at the Edinburgh evening news.
At the end of his talk someone asked a question about pro-rangers bias within the Scottish sports media. The reporter skirted round the question to some extent but said that ken Gallacher got poached by the herald from the sun as he had “excellent contacts at rangers and so was perfect for the herald’s target readership.”
If I recall rightly ken Gallacher wrote a particularly seminal succulent lamb piece in the herald in April 2000 about how rangers were set for European domination, going to leave Scottish football behind etc
Three months later Martin O’Neill pitched up at Celtic and the rest is history
*Spiers not sports,Jim Spence was on radio Scotland last week,saying him and his family were intimidated by the gang. Sounded like he quit due to a lack of support from his colleagues to me.
leftclicktic
I would hope it is of no cost to Celtic, however it does advertise the Park’s brand
Been reading back and never noticed anyone post this tweet by James Doleman:
Dewar ” the Rangers football club does not exist, it is an idea in people’s minds, a myth of continuity”
EXCLUSIVE: Celtic agree 18-month loan deal for £12m Manchester City kid Patrick Roberts https://t.co/O43ifelWjn https://t.co/eWPzOh82pS
Parks also spend a fortune on advertising with the Daily record group which now owns all the local Lanarkshire newspapers.
I am sitting with a weekly Lanarkshire rag in front of me right now and there are four pages of full page adverts for the Parks Motor Group in there.
You can bet your bottom dollar this is very much in the minds of daily record editorial and management staff when handling their coverage of Sevco and the three bears.
Simple solution is for Lanarkshire based tims not to buy any cars from the Hun and he won’t be able to justify the advertising spend and so be able to control the west of Scotland press.
Ghuys if you have an issue with any business/organisation the sure fire way to get their attention is to withdraw your patronage, that is what every business fears customers walking. Short term pain for long term gain if we all do it together -not easy I grant you – it focuses the bean counters minds. The Herald,Sky, SFA, SPFL even our own board. You will very quickly have changes or at least meaningful dialogue. I know it may not be to many peoples liking but it is sharp and usually short, be interested to hear other points of view. Hail Hail Hebcelt
Have just informed Herald that statement was a cop out.
Also it appeared sloppy editorial work that Speirs statement was not subjected to legal niceities prior to publication.
Bada Bing
can he play defensive midfield? :-)
18m actually makes a lot of sense for us but not necessarily for him. Could be a forgotten man down there in 18months with new signings etc.
TGBS
——–
Can’t help you on your first paragraph.
By seeking to prevent free speech from people at Celtic, aren’t you in danger of following in the footsteps of those we are rightly condemning in the majority of submissions to todays blog?
To have everyone connected with Celtic ‘singing from the same hymnsheet’, with no alternative points of view, would be sinister, would undermine our legitimate claims and make us a ‘laughing-stock’ in the eyes of public opinion.
There is a time and place to make our stance – here and now is not that time and place, for a multitude of reasons.
Coneybhoy-18 months makes more sense than 6,still don’t like getting players fit for other clubs
Am I missing something here.
A Martian reading CQN today would think that offended/offending director may have been named Park.
Tell me I have got it all wrong.
Compelling read about today’s editorial shenanigans ..
http://wingsoverscotland.com/spears-of-sport/
EMBRAMIKE SAYS “THE HUNS ARE DEID” on 29TH JANUARY 2016 5:01 PM
Compelling read about today’s editorial shenanigans ..
http://wingsoverscotland.com/spears-of-sport/
Wonder if Wings over Scotland would care to quantify ‘Tiny Minority’.
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/mark-twain-napoleon-and-fatal-newspaper-mistakes/comment-page-5/#comment-2763410
Well Done Celtic on getting Patrick Roberts on such an extended loan deal. n1
18 months, happy with that, well done Ronny for sticking to you guns re a proper deal.
https://t.co/Xu7MY9QL7H
He does look some player
I have my answer from The Herald:
A Graham Spiers column published on heraldscotland in December made a claim about an un-named member of the six-strong board of Rangers. This presented a legal issue which had to be addressed and which was discussed at length, by all parties involved.
The issue was whether we could defend in court a contentious statement and the advice given was that we could not. Finally, on clear legal advice, we were left with no option other than to apologise and seek to draw a line under the matter.
After the apology was published we had to abide by it and the spirit in which it was published. Unfortunately that apology was then undermined and we had to take appropriate action.
Our titles have a long history of supporting quality journalism and defending free speech and robust comment. This made all the more difficult the action we had to take.
While one of our advertisers is on the board at Rangers that was never an issue and we shall continue to report and comment on the pressing issues of the day without fear or favour.
Magnus Llewellin
Editor in Chief
Sunderland agree fee for a striker from Bordeaux………Fletcher in early….?
benjybhoy mul on 29th January 2016 5:07 pm
As I posted earlier a cop out.
Had Herald stood by Speirs, director in question would either have to have put up and outed himself, or shut up.
Exiled Tim
—————-
Re: Patrick Roberts – surely the credit MUST go to Peter Lawwell – or does he only ‘carry the can’ when things DON’T go to plan?
Is it a world first that a second division football club manages to engineer the sacking of two journalists.
Only in Scotland.