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 |
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.
