tartan trannie trash boo National Anthem in dublin

[BLUEDIGNITY 34,077]

David Leggat - giving it to you straight

NEWSPAPERS AND RESPONSIBILITY

JOURNALISTS in Egypt have been enjoying their first taste of working in a free press. However, they must be made to realise, with that freedom comes responsibilty.

When reporting, a reporter must look and listen to what is there to be seen and heard - all of it - and report. All of it. He must not cheat, and ignore any facts, in order to tailor what he writes to his own agenda.

The job of the columnist is different. His task is to provoke. Sometimes the columnist provokes anger and sometimes thought.

However, any opinion a columnist puts forward must be based on what that columnist knows to be true. On what they have seen and heard.

In 1921, the legendary Guardian editor, CP Scott, produced a mantra for the media, which hold good to this day, when he wrote:"Comment is free, but facts are sacred."

However, it appears to be advice which the Times of London's Scottish edition's man, Odious Creep, believes he is above.

Of course CP Scott had no inkling of things such as the internet, and Twitter was a long way off when he offered his sagacity.

But his advice holds good for any journalist who tweets professionally. Anything posted on Odious Creep's Twitter account carries the same weight of responsibility to the truth as what he writes in his flaccid organ.

Which brings us to his astonishing tweet in the aftermath of Scotland's 3-0 win over Northern Ireland in Dublin.

Creep scribbled:"Further evidence in Dublin that Northern Ireland have cleaned up their act: no sectarian chants. If the IFA can do it, why not Rangers FC?"

First things first, and - as M'Learned friends may say - it goes to relevance.

Creep was in Dublin for an international football match. He was there to report on and comment on Scotland. Can someone please tell me where Rangers come in?

Of course, there may be a hint of obsessive behaviour from Creep. Or just plain old primary school playground attention seeking.

I leave the verdict on his motives to those more medically qualified. However, in the matter of Creep's journalistic standards and morals, I do feel qualified to comment.

It would seem his hearing is selective again. Those who were at the game in Dublin, and those who watched on television, heard clearly when the Tartan Army booed the Northern Ireland National Anthem before kick off.

This is par for the course for the bare-backsided Jacobites. They did it the last time Northern Ireland visited Hampden, and the Scottish Football Association had to aplogise to their guests.

This time though - and I refer you to Thursday's Scotsman for some proper reporting - the Jacobites had some help. The locals - you could hardly call them neutrals - joined in and booed the Anthem of their neighbours.

But not a word of this disgrace was tweeted by Creep. Which is an even bigger disgrace. That is because it was Creep who somehow managed to turn the crowd's behaviour it into one of his obsessive anti Rangers rants.

If there is an opportunity to rant at Rangers, Creep will take it. And if there isn't one, he will conjure one up out of thin air.

It is bad and biased reporting, and is unworthy of a once great newspaper such as the Times of London, even when it only comes from a district man, via the modern medium of Twitter.

It is though, what we - and by that I mean, we in the media - have come to expect from Odious Creep, who is regarded by many of the fine hard working members of the press pack as a charlatan who is not to be trusted.

Now, from some of his other tweets, I am aware he seems to believe I have become obsessive about him.

Indeed, when attending a game at Hamilton Accies earlier this year, he giggled in his girlish way, that he thought I was becoming his own personal Boswell.

What a pretentious prat!

James Boswell was, of course, the friend, companion and biographer of the great Dr Samuel Johnson, and however waspish his pen, there was affection in what he wrote.

Affection? Creep? Me?

But Creep's claim once again highlights how he is incapable of seeing and hearing the facts. All the facts. Those Egyptian journalists, who have been given their first taste of press freedom, already know more about the responsibility that comes with that freedom than the self-styled Dr Johnson, Odious Creep.