“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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TBJ
Always a are I just couldn’t remember who posted it
Honestguv
Happy at an 18 month deal for Roberts, well done Ronny and Peter.
Also can’t understand why some think it’s a bad thing Peter’s son works at such a wealthy club as Man City, especially with the talent they will be buying and opportunity’s it has and will present for us .
On sevco case .. A Judge that see’s sense
James Doleman @jamesdoleman 4h4 hours ago
Lord Malcolm says Rangers only talked about two different entities ‘so they could still say they won the league”
BSR
Alan Dewar QC, aka Demolition Man.
Greensideup-GBWO on 29th January 2016 7:06 pm
Pardew was arrogant and condescending in his attitude towards us re Fraser. Typical EPL arrogance.
Great that we had the last laugh.
Saint Stivs from way earlier. 1739 or somert…
Agreed 100%
HH
Roberts in.
Get a defensive midfielder sorted between now and June.
Sign either Twain or Napoleon and we’ll be sorted
HH
glendalystonsils,
aye, I do remember him being a bit of a prick towards us and even towards the big man if I recall, but ah yes we did have the last laugh, much like another English manager of a certain rovers team in the run towards Seville.
I would love to return to the days of “underestimate the Hoops and it will be at your peril”!
HH
gsu
Seems Rangers really must have the best referees
https://raillydecord.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/warbs-words-of-wisdom/
Evening all. Robbie Savage, on beeb 1, looks like he’s been out been out with Gertrude. HH
Celtic Gates Up
To be honest it was all about the court case, Graham Spiers and Angela Haggerty have been used as a deflection, the timing was prepared, the bow shots have been sent.
The statements by councils and judges wont be published by the smsm.
The cover up continues, Scotland’s shame have the loaded deck in their hand.
What to do about it?
Keep winning trophies and hope our board will eventually stand up and be counted when the time comes, by God, it must be soon.
The Herald thing sums up the damaging influence of sevco. It’s an affront to a modern democratic society. Is there another club in Europe (a lower league newco at that!!) who wields such influence? If it was happening in jonny foreigners land our press would be outraged.
It is sickening
one thing is for sure, the Scottish press will not use the 12m price tag he’s erroneously been saddled with to put as much pressure on a teenager making his way in the game as possible. No way he won’t be subjected to weekly assaults by full back keen to make a name for themselves because the referees will be there to protect him
Ronny has his work cut out protecting this young man. Let’s hope the boy has the character to deal with what’s coming his way
Gary Lineker has truly taken over from Jimmy Hill.
Bourne
Is he now a poof
Love
The thing about Patrick Joseph Roberts is that we got him, and can afford his wages, the gulf between Celtic and any other Scottish side has just been underlined.
CELTIC40ME. Fella City paid 4 million to Fulham for young Roberts the deal could eventually reach 11 million if the player triggers certain agreed trigger points.However currently he is a 4 million player which is not bad for a youngster. H.H.
TSOAL
Robbie Savage does a lot for baldness?
How much did Fulham pay for Ross mc cormack?
As someone who works in the media, I can’t begin to say how utterly stupid the Herald are being. And how angry it makes me. Compare and contrast, as the used to say in Higher English.Don’t know if you remember this:
Pulizer Prize-winning journalist, Ron Suskind, got this quote from George W Bush’s adviser Karl Rove in 2002, published in the New York Times “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”
Suskind never attributed it to Rove, but to an unnamed source in the Bush administration. It made his name. Rove’s name sort of ‘arose’, later. It’s one of the most famous stories in journalism in the last 20 years. The issue of the NY Times having to back him never even came up!
Fast-forward to 2016, and we have the Herald defecating themselves over a football team – not a government – complaining about an unattributed remark by an award-winning journalist (I do wonder if Rangers actually asked all their directors if any of them had actually made that remark).
The Herald is out of their depth on this. They really have the chance of imploding. We could see more people leaving, or a strike action.
Joe Filippis Haircut on 29th January 2016 7:51 pm
Agree, but he’s a £12m youngster now. a £12m flop sounds so much better than a £4m one. Jangle and his chums will be rubbing their hands in the pub tonight
BT
£11m approx
PC fitba’ chants
“We hate Jummy Hull
He’s aloof, he’s aloof.”
APRICALE
What do you make off the sub editors email which was put up earlier ?
For those that are getting caught up in what Celtic FC should or shouldn’t be saying or doing…..this is for you
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RST-SrohzhU
goodthingscometothosethatwaitCSC
H.H.
Cheers Gerry
Hope to be in PV or Priory for gold cup day
Let me know if you make it across the river
Nye Bevan,
Looks like you’re getting to keep your seat, I’ll give you a wave from 110 next season :-(
SOUKOUS on 29TH JANUARY 2016 5:18 PM
‘The Sunday Herald has over the last few years tried to develop its own identity,so I find it very disappointing to read this:’
###
I think what you mean is that the Sunday Herald, for purely commercial reasons, decided to shift its editorial line to pander to the mugs who have succumbed to nationalism.
If I were a unionised worker at the herald or an nuj freelancer who contributed to them I would be looking for action from my Union. I’d be looking for instructions that no NUJ member write for them, no printer print, no driver distribute etc etc until Spiers and Haggerty were offered their columns back and am apology.
BT,
was that email response not contradictory…..as was said earlier…..shouldn’t the legal implications not have been sought before the article was published…..would that not be editorial practice?
H.H.
Mini has decided to remain in her seat which will move over to the standing area, she had to reply before end of November
Being at Stranraer I don’t think my old knees and back could cope with standing for over 2 hours
Beatbhoy
” Your teeth are offside, your teeth are offside, Luis Suarez, your teeth are offside”
Manure fans singing about Luis Suarez
BSR,
thanks for posting that clip. He has very quick feet and I see why they would compare him to Messi.
HH
gsu
The lurkingtim
I’m sure wc had a few legal hoops to jump through last year before the fans statement was issued so I’d imagine you are correct
Did you make BV today?
I was off work so couldn’t make it
BT
There is a very good chance that’s where I will be watching the Gold Cup, probably the old commercial, SH has already told the company he drinks with about the stupid bet, plus it helps am off work the 15th-22nd March,…. Cheltenham, St Paddys, birthdays & hopefully a wee cup final Sunday……
Ernie,
please, for the love of god….keep politics off the blog ;-))
H.H.
Gerry
Lennybhoy has my number
Having half day Thursday then off Friday
Obviously I’m not giving up drink for lent
Greensideup
Can’t wait to see him in the Hoops.