Thursday 4 April 2019

Quotes of the Week: From horrendous to see Brexiteers threatening journalists to publishers should drop corporate jargon on cuts and closures



C4 News head of communications Hayley Barlow @Hayley_Barlow on Twitter after pro-Brexit protesters abused its journalists: "Relieved to report that our Channel 4 News crew were unharmed tonight, and whilst their safety remains our priority, they will not be intimidated or deterred from doing their jobs on what is another momentous day on this ongoing Brexit crisis."
Jeremy Bowen @BowenBBC on Twitter: "I’ve seen this kind of thuggish intimidation in nasty places around the world. Horrendous to see it in the UK."
Robert Peston @Peston on Twitter: "Big shout of “you’re a wan**r Peston” after my live broadcast outside parliament. Great to get the recognition I deserve."


Krishnan Guru-Murthy‏ @krishgm on Twitter: "A male MP we asked to come on for this discussion about the abusive language and behaviour around Brexit told our producer to get stuffed and shove the programme up his ****. There have always been a few thickies in parliament but they were generally polite. No more."


Janice Turner in her interview with Laura Kuenssberg in The Times [£]: "Kuenssberg was an early, passionate champion of social media as a way to broaden public engagement, arguing to the BBC board of directors in 2008 that journalists should be allowed to be on Twitter. Does she feel, now her Twitter feed brims with vicious, sometimes obscene messages, that she opened a Pandora’s box? 'I’m disappointed that alongside opening up the conversation, it has provided a megaphone for, you know …' She shrugs. Does she read the comments? 'I stopped long ago. It’s like a bully will go and pull someone’s pigtails in order to make them cry and then be satisfied with that. I don’t have a thick skin, just other priorities'.”


Roy Greenslade in the Guardian on the death of Brian MacArthur: "It is irritating that Brian MacArthur’s obituaries have headlined his connection to the Sunday Times’s ill-fated serialisation of the faked Hitler Diaries in 1983. He was an innocent in the affair, caught between a historian who, having verified the diaries as genuine, changed his mind after they had gone to press, and a proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, who was willing to publish and be damned. MacArthur should be remembered instead for being the founding editor of a newspaper, Today, that helped to transform the industry by using computer technology. He should also be recognised for his wisdom as a senior executive at several papers, for mentoring young journalists and for writing, for 18 years, one of the most authoritative and balanced media columns."

Lionel Barber @lionelbarber on Twitter: "The Financial Times has passed the milestone of 1m readers - one year ahead of schedule. Congratulations and thanks to my brilliant journalist colleagues."


Owen Jones in the Guardian: "There are many good journalists working in Britain. But too many of those working in the British press act as hatemongers who play with matches then express horror as the flames reach ever higher, while broadcasters such as the BBC have given airtime to far-right thugs such as Tommy Robinson. With the far right globally in the ascendancy – from Italy to Brazil – the role of the media must be urgently debated. Mainstream media outlets and politicians are directly assisting the rise of the far right. The silence must end, preferably before more die."


Donald Trump @realDonaldTrump on Twitter:"The Fake News Media is going Crazy! They are suffering a major “breakdown,” have ZERO credibility or respect, & must be thinking about going legit. I have learned to live with Fake News, which has never been more corrupt than it is right now. Someday, I will tell you the secret!"


Steve Dyson in InPublishing on the convoluted statements by publishers announcing job cuts and title closures in the regional press: "Take a look at any publisher’s recent statement about job cuts or title closures, and you’ll quickly spot your least favourite chunks of misleading jargon or gobbledygook. It’s time publishers – in the business of clear communications – learned from these mistakes."

Alan Rusbridger @arusbridger on Twitter:  " 'Agile' has become one of those corporate words that Orwell would have skewered. This JPI statement is about closing newsrooms & asking journalists to work from home. Fine, but find a better word than 'agile'."


[£]=paywall

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