Dear All
One thing I like to talk about to people is their right to make choices, but choices can also have a downside, and sometimes the consequences can be devastating. The Daily Record ran a story about a podcast connected to Rangers, essentially, it was a shit throwing exercise over historic tweets. When you throw shit, depending on your aim, it can stick to someone. However, just as throwing it may seem a good idea, there is the option of the people on the receiving end throwing it back. And what the Daily Record miscalculated is that their 'targets' would get 'handers'. Rangers fans after the Heart and Hand podcast was attacked, starting going through the tweets of as many Daily Record reporters as possible. The result is a series of tweets were published of reporters musings which has done exceptional harm to the Daily Record brand.
The Daily Record has said it will do an investigation, but it has been pointed that what the Daily Record expects as standards from others should be applied to themselves. I suspect that several people, at least two will be leaving the newspaper, possibly maybe the editor as well. Any today's blog is really calling on you to listen to the people who run the Heart and Hand podcast and get the essence of this story. Heart and Hand are the official media partners of Rangers, whereas the Daily Record is not welcome at Ibrox. If they thought admitting to destroy the podcast would be a good idea and get them back into Ibrox, they seriously misunderstood their strategy. So, just how bad are things for the Daily Record? Well, if they were in a burning building, they would be the residents on the top floor, the dossier of reporters tweets has been handed into them, but the further damage is that The Times has reported the story.
I don't the where and why the Daily Record got kicked out of Ibrox, but as pointed out in the Heart and Hand podcast, the power they once command because of their ability to shape public opinion is gone. I would that Rangers fans would have a benchmark about the club, treat it fairly and treat it no different from any other club. There seems to be the perception that those standards don't exist at the Daily Record. The question is why not? Everybody has a job to do, it can be done in a civil and professional manner. This little episode is a watershed moment for the Daily Record, this is one genie that cannot be put back into the bottle. In the podcast, a comment was made about the Rangers fans phrase, 'we are the people', in this case, the people/ fans have reacted rather badly to being attacked. The Daily Record is finding out that they aren't just fighting a group of volunteers who help run a podcast, they re fighting thousands of people. And these thousands of people all have resources and time, which is why they have effectively gone through as many reporters on the paper as they could find, and went through their tweets of old.
It is said that the reporter at the centre of this is Mark McGivern who allegedly has a track record of dredging up negative stories about Rangers. His colleagues are now facing a difficult time, if they get kept on at the Daily Record along with Mr. McGivern, the paper is tainted. What I find interesting is that it was said that some people in the Daily Record thought publishing the attack on Heart and Hand was a bad idea, and it was it. If you dig far enough into anyone's history, you will find something which someone will claim they are offended by. Even if they are not, the Daily Record like other newspapers like to adopt a 'moral high ground', and that position usually is built on thin ice. I used to read the sanctimonious but when I realised they were false idols and in bed with the political class, I realised that my world view best suited me.
Finally, I live round the corner from Ibrox, and so does my brother, he lives even closer than me. One day he got job at Ibrox doing maintenance fitting out dressing rooms of the players and staff. I asked him, what was it like working there? He told me, he had met the players and staff, that everyone, even the big stars were very nice to him. There was no one acting like a prima donna, just genuine people getting on with their jobs. He enjoyed his time working at Ibrox and at their training ground in the West End. It kind of begs the question, why couldn't the Daily Record get along with the club. Years ago, I met then Rangers manager Mark Warburton at a charity, I had a chat with him only for a few minutes, he really impressed me, so down to earth.
Yours sincerely
George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
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