Desperate U-turn won't solve great Herald fiasco

Only three weeks after the fiasco that saw The Herald Executive editor apologise for one writer, who promptly said he had nothing to apologise for and then jettison another one who tweeted her solidarity, the management at the group have decided on an unexplained U-turn.

But then, much has been unexplained since Group Editor Magnus Llewellin tweeted, “It's

Shredded: The Herald titles' reputation

complicated,” and his side-kick, Barclay McBain – allegedly a former NUJ representative sent a message to all staff warning that freedom of speech on social media would not earn their good graces.

For those lucky enough to have been cloistered away from the strangeness that occurs when the Scottish media intersects with Scottish football, the much admired/reviled Graham Spiers questioned the will of some directors of the identity thieves calling themselves Rangers to tackle the most obscene guttural utterances of their loyal hordes of follow-followers.

As evidence, he cited little other than the fact that the club is conspicuously doing nothing about it and a direct communication from a senior Ibrox figure indicating that some of the ditties currently considered criminal are in keeping with the values of the club. (Any ironic reference is mine, rather than that of Spiers.)

Facing a legal threat that “could not be defended” and – Llewellin insisted – no commercial pressure whatsoever, the editor buckled, misrepresenting one of the most high-profile writers in Scotland.

He then torpedoed a column by the, normally publicity-shy, Angela Haggerty for tweeting solidarity with Spiers, whining that she had undermined that false apology.

It cannot be often that England rugby internationals feel fascinated by Scottish football but, for this, Brian Moore described Llewellin as “spineless” in what could be described as a cowardly stab in Llewellin's invertebrate back.

Sunday Herald editor Neil Mackay “fought hard”, capitulated, Tweeted that he was washing his

hands of the affair and then posted a picture of a glass of wine, which we can presume he then promptly sent the same way as the rest of his bottle.

Mackay (r) challenging Llewellin (l) as McBain watches

There was justifiable outrage that the “free” press was so easily cowed into becoming self-censoring in the face of intimidation and the shredder was plugged in for the last hint of respectability for two once-honoured news titles.

In a difficult newspaper environment, one in which the Independent has already announced the end of its “paper” edition, management face many challenges. However, The Herald and Sunday Herald have faced more than most.

A catastrophic independence referendum campaign during which The Herald was often accused of doing the bidding of the Scottish Labour media office, saw much of the remaining confidence that the title had retained lost.

In contrast, The Sunday Herald was riding the crest of a wave, largely due to then editor Richard Walker's stewardship of the paper and winning the support of a large proportion of Yes voters. The transition to Mackay's editorship has not been a smooth one, with plummeting figures as the title seems to have lost its way.

Would Walker have remained in post as one of the writers he picked was axed? It's hard to say but for all the “nice guy, great friend” defences of Mackay, he can have done little to instil fearlessness in his team.

“These people have families and mortgages,” was the defence. Quite – as do the many public figures who are routinely called on to resign for misdemeanours unfitting to their positions.

The fury that greeted the stranding of Spiers and Haggerty was justified and yet, the decision to reinstate the former-editor-of-a-well-known-Celtic-fan's-book should not be expected to bring readers flocking back – she had far more defenders of her rights than admirers of her writings.

Haggerty has faced appalling online abuse from certain sections of Scottish society (and indeed Mackay called on all Scottish men to defend her about a fortnight before leaving her high and dry) but Llewellin is as likely to salvage his titles through his reverse-capitulation as a soldier waiting for reinforcements without realising that the war is over.

Spiers, in the meantime, has been emboldened to explicitly defend the truth of his original piece. Curiously, this does not seem to have been met with the “indefensible” defamation action that had Llewellin hearing things going bump in the night.

Whether or not that calls into question the veracity of Llewellin's claim that no commercial pressure was involved is a matter for sheer speculation.

The future can be predicted with greater certainty. Haggerty's reinstatement will be welcomed but that will neither inspire any renewed confidence in the integrity of the Herald titles, nor a slowing of the decline in their sales.

With a paper-free future surely looming, it will perhaps dawn on Llewellin that what has settled over the titles is not the dust from the stramash, but a layer of ashes.

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