Indy-gate : Not Independent, Not Speaking
Neil O'Brien at Open Europe spotted that the Indy cover story this morning was lifted entirely from an FCO briefing paper.Guido called the Indy newsroom looking for Andrew Grice, the political editor who had the accompanying story, to be told he was not available. So I asked who was responsible for cutting and pasting the press release. "Brrr..." - they slammed the phone down.
There must be terrible telecoms problems at the Indy. The Speccie gave the editor of the Indy three hours to respond to their inquiries. Silencio.
The CoffeeHouse blog broke the story. When Blair said the Indy was a viewspaper not a newspaper, you can bet he never imagined it would be the government's views spread over three pages. Not so bloody piously independent today...
35 comments:
As always GF-Bang on the money.
I'm always confused if the Indy is a Fib Dem rag or a Nu Lab rag.
It seems now they are an EU Pravda rag now.
They dont like it up em do they ?
"The Independent" - um-ya.
It's in your face fraud - they ought to change the name to "The Indescendant"
That's plagiarism, surely? The Foreign Office must be really pissed off. They should sue.
Er...
Wow, 2 links this eveing alone to the Speccie's Coffeshop. They'll be breaking open the prosecco right now, you mark my wrds.
Sloppy journalism.
The Independent's ok. The business coverage is good, even if it never breaks a story. The economics editor, Sean O'Grady though is a man farting higher than his arse. Wasn't he Paddy Ashdown's bag carrier in days gone past?
Those who think it's a pinko-paper with Steve "Brown-nose" Richards and Joan Hari should remember it also gives space to Dominic "son of" Lawson and Bruce Angerson.
Ah Dead Tree Press journalism at its very best - cut and paste from a press release - just what the NuLab spinmeisters ordered.
Shame that the "Independent" has not recognised that one Brown signs this treaty the UK is very far from being independent - just another province in Barroso's empire. At which point we may as well scrap Parliament and turn the site into a museum of British democracy
"Triumph at Lisbon for Brown" - "PM defends national interest"
"Tough negotiations secure Britain's "red lines"
I could write tomorrows headlines myself.
I used to be a big fan of the Indy way back in the days when Andreas Whittam-Smith was the editor.
No 'side', no 'preaching', just all sides of the story so that you could make your own mind up. Then they got nuked by getting into drawn into a price war they could never win with the Dark Prince Rupert 'wanker' Murdoch, and it has never been the same since. Not even Blimey 'Heinz' O'Reilly could keep his interfering paws off it.
A damned shame, but as they are no longer independent they should have the 'Trades Description' People round to make them change the name.
Let me defend Seam O'Grady. He was a Lib Dem media boss, true. But he has only just been moved from motoring to economics, just in time for the credit crunch. So give him time to catch-up. Any of you lot have to change jobs completely at the drop of a hat?
Indie is Ok for a rag with circulation under 300,000. Lawson, Anderson, Simon Carr, Hamish McCrae, Patrick Cockburn and James Lawton write good stuff. Hari is third rate. Richards and Rentoul are NuLab PR chappies. Indie better than THe Times in some respects.
i think this a case of myths from the sith.
the red lies (i mean lines) are pointless smokescreening , gordo attacked cameron on comming out of mastricht with less "well we did better than you did in masstricht"
i fail to se how this is better than masstricht , in what senses is it better?? , the EU is costing more and more , as for mandy bulling dvelopment loans auditing for north east of uk and making possibility of wanting money back (a threat) , bit rich i thought for a goverment that has never signed off audited accounts.
the EU cybermen are here , upgrade or die , could be upgrade and die as well looking at it.
there is nothing we cant do as well and cheaper as the EU with the outputs of our own universities , we just dont need superstate control freakery , its never worked we are heading towards being a plebacite labelled as mentally defective.
anything that needs lawyers to argue over the french meaning of shall and will , for half an hour says alot about just gordo has signed up to.
hes sold us down the shitter for tarting up excercise. the whole gov are patently dishonest, arrogant and the most undemocratic goverment i think we have had since 1884 reform act when 5.6 million (16% of pop) were able to vote.
how odd we have the most extensive form of democracy and cant vote on succession for the very land we stand and gain our livelyhoods from .
its a treachourous betrayal of the british people and there parents , my father would did not fight for this form of goverment.
thanks
red despot spotter
Newspaper is political partisan shock! Next thing you know, the Telegraph will be claiming it isn't biased towards the Tory party.
Isn't this a bit like your non-story in the Telegraph Guido that you were being threatened with arrest for not handing over info to the Charity Commission about the Smith Institute? That was bollocks as well, cooked up by you lot to keep up the pressure.
Did it get you anywhere? Hah.
dear sunny
i can confirm , that there are indeed iregularities with the siths structure and relationship to No11 and to No10.
and its not what us lot cooked up!!
thanks
red despot spotter
fucking traitors. theres no other way to express it. do the Indie folks have ANY sense of identification with the country that they publish in? to me they are bad as the fucking Islamists.
8:29 PM
Hell, check the small print. We'll probably wake up tomorrow morning to find he's agreed to Afghanistan's compulsory accession to the EU.
Our home-grown suicide bombers're going to priced out of the market.
Dear Sunny (2)
The Torygraph has lately been supporting Brown, whereas his little chum Rupert seems to have turned his back.
It's all very confusing. Life is not black and white.
Have you looked at the Official Foreign and Commonwealth Website and its pages on the EU Reform Treaty. This is supposed to be an unbiased website, but just try and find anything in it that does not toe the Labour Party Line, The only mention of cross-party European Scrutiny Committee's damning report is as follows
Minister for Europe, Jim Murphy, has responded to the report on the EU Intergovernmental Conference by the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee:
"I welcome the publication of this report, just as I have welcomed opportunities to provide evidence to this Committee, to its House of Lords equivalent, and to the Foreign Affairs Committee. I am pleased to note the Committee's recognition that by defending its 'red lines' the UK has secured a specific deal different to that on offer to the other 26 EU member states."
Which must be one of the most cynical of replies to a report that rubbishes everything the government has said.
Sunny: Yes, all newspapers are partisan, but at least they don't take the piss by calling themselves "Independent."
The Independent; it's not, are you?
The Indy has such bad sport pages. Also I agree that Hari is positively 4th street - to think he once accused others of being hucksters and intellectual crooks!
The Independent is a pointless newspaper - invented in the 1980s to fill a gap identified by the marketing department. As we are no longer living in the past the gap has ceased to exist. They pioneered the flight from broadsheet to comic (and became physically smaller in the process). Being a sensitive soul I prefer to use Andrex.
anon 10:48 - exactly that! Pointless. OK it's not a bad read but it is a spineless, sanctimonious waste of dead trees. Why? Why would you bother?
that there are indeed iregularities with the siths structure and relationship to No11 and to No10
A bit like Policy Exchange's close proximity to the Conservative party? None of you lot will be complaining then if the Tories get into power.
but at least they don't take the piss by calling themselves "Independent."
It's a brand-name. Get over it and stop whining you bunch of sissies.
Sunny, I think you mean "when" the Tories get into power. It's all over bar the shouting. A whole new class of deadbeat down the Job Centre. Tee hee.
I wrote them some letters and they never publish one.Is maybe my poor English.
In one I say Godless heathen bastard Richard Dawkins is worse than fucking mullah. In another that slaphead geek Brian Eno tone fucking deaf. And in third that Hari Johanne unspeakable insufferable cunt belong down mine shaft.
When not publish not send any more. Know when not appreciated.
Wot?Read the Morning Star!
Now that's an independent anti-EU newspaper!
Stanislav - please keep sending your letters to Guido and Iain, we love to read them.
The Indy is pompous but has some darn good writers - Carr, Lawson, Hensher, that guy on Saturday, Wotsisname.
They should be congratulated for deigning to appear in the same paper as that work experience bloke, Hari.
If the word gets around about this, the Independent could suffer some serious damage to their credibility. Has anything like this happened before with a major broadsheet?
It should be called the EUDEPENDENT! Like the BBC it is having a deluded fantasy about being the new EUSSR(tass) news agency!
Does anyone know if the Number Ten e-petitions site has a petition calling for a referendum?
Hari? isnt he the froggy toad who used to hide from the bullies in the library after school? He's bitter about being picked on so he starts reading about socialist revolutions Etc and feeds his anger by having revolutionary fantasies and pretending that he's Beria, shooting all his enemies!
Thats the kind of twat that inhabits the MSM? no fucking wonder the MSM is so crap!
Thank you Judith. Is good shit have friends in new country. But not know anybody called Iain and not write to. Is only to Lord Guido Stanislav make umbrages. Is keep in family. Lord Guido employ Stanislav teenage sisters as nanny/concubines in grand house in Ireland so is kind of brother-in-common-law. Who please, is Iain? Is not from immigration, innit?
Anyway, news from Scotland, best part of England. Lady go in extermination hospital with minor problem, come out with MRSA, like everybody else who not killed by staff. Week later take dog in vets for jab and vet say You has been in hospital, innit ? Lady say how you know? Vet say because dog got MRSA.
Not make up, is true. MRSA in Raigmore Hospital so virulent jump fucking species. NHS is like Auschwitz, innit, torture old people with beat and starve and make lie in shit. Invent mad disease and spread in whole animal kingdom. In my country all department of health staff go down mine shaft head first. Especially singing postmistress Alana Johnstone. LibDems should make shut-up while country commence lynching of useless bastard murderer Johnstone. Give to fair trial and hang up from meat hook. Like good old days.
Stanislav, do you see you have crossed the pond?
http://ladyjanellewellyn.blogspot.com/
Fuck off an die school bully(ret) You paedo creep.
Post a Comment