manshimajin Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Richard Butt is going after the politicians... Thanks for all your comments. We welcome them all. But I would like to challenge a lot of what people here have been saying.Have you read this week's Examiner? Do you think the Tourism and Leisure Minister Martyn Quayle thinks that our newspapers 'pussy-foot' around politicians? 'Minister urged to go after OAP bus U-turn' page one. A government minister is told to resign by another MHK and is severely criticised by many of our website readers, which we've reported. PM moans this story was split over two pages and that was designed to 'minimise impact'. One of those pages was page one. The other was page two.And that is supposed to 'minimise impact'? What nonsense, PM.It was only after we reported the story on our website on Friday that the U-turn on the pensioners' bus fares happened at all, by the way. Is the story about hauliers on page five really representative of a newspaper that prints only what politicians allow it to print? 'Hauliers in "stitch-up" fears over proposals.' Back to tourism, remember our TT week headline in the Manx Independent? 'Terribly Tedious'? That kick-started the whole debate in Tynwald about the lack of entertainment for fans. Again, Mr Quayle could have hardly been very chuffed about that. Elsewhere, our coverage (which I think was totally fair, by the way) of the Venda affair (where the DTI appointed an off-Island company to create a site for Manx companies to use) did not exactly have the Department of Trade and Industry jumping up and down with glee. Again, the issue was taken up by other politicians, possibly with their own particular axes to grind in Tynwald. But I know that a lot of businesses in the Island were angry about the decision. We reflected that. Similarly, the DTI wasn't very happy when we reported (without any spin) on its decision to spend £50,000 on a yacht in Cannes. Why was the hyperbaric chamber saved (at least in the medium run)? Because our newspapers ran a campaign to save it. It ensured the support of hundreds of readers, including Trevor Hemmings, the millionaire. He rang me about it to say that it was our coverage that persuaded him to help.Eddie Teare MHK, the health minister, succumbed to public opinion as well and kept finances going. He had originally questioned its worth, you might remember. Again, in the Manx Independent a few months ago, on page one, we questioned why the fuel surcharge was still so high on the Steam Packet. We showed how the prices had come down. The front page read: "August 2005: Surcharge £2. Oil barrel $70; Sept 2008: Surcharge £5, oil barrel £106; Feb 2009: Surcharge £5, oil barrel £41. ARE FUEL CHARGES A RIP-OFF? To put it mildly, Mark Woodward, the chief executive of the SPC, was livid. And, to be fair to him, we hadn't explained properly that it was down to the user agreement with the government. However, the fact that we did the story in the first place and gave it such prominence surely showed that: 1. We are interested in our readers' concerns. We get more letters about the cost of getting on and off the Island than about anything else. 2. We are not afraid to ruffle the feathers of big companies. I think it's also helped to make our politicians a little more concerned about the user agreement, although a lot had already expressed those concerns. At the risk of boring you, I shall continue. What about our sarcastic page one headline in the Independent about the state of Strand Street? "Welcome to our vibrant capital". The story showed the empty shops and the down-at-heel state of the town. Hardly a pat on the back for politicians in Douglas or Island-wide. Is another page one we looked at private debt (Island feels crunch: 181 people who owe average of £20,000 each ask for help) a sign of a complacent good-news-only paper? Surely people who actually read our newspapers realise that we have not ignored the economic downturn? We've also had job losses on page 1 several times. Again, a page one: "Education Minister's admission as slump bites: Now teachers could lose jobs." (More on that story in this week's Independent, by the way). As for the pensions fiasco, the Courier has twice splashed on health workers threatening to leave the Island. The easy thing to have done on this story would have been to let Angela Moffatt, of the Prospect Union, have her say, slagging off the government. Of course, we have done that. But we've also taken it further. We got Jon McGowan, MD of MAC Financial, a pensions expert, to give his view. The current situation is 'unsustainable', he said. A bit of analysis from someone who's not directly affected. We hope it helped bring light to the matter, As for MHKs and MLCs not being affected by the proposals. Well, of course, we have reported that endlessly. Again, a sarcastic headline adorned one of the stories. 'So that's why MHKs aren't affected.' Have we ignored the KSF savers? Absolutely not. We've done stacks on the issue. But we've stopped putting it on page 1. Circulation (if only it really was guaranteed, JD McDonald) dropped every time we did. However, I do remember one page one "We will expose you all, Tynwald members warned". KSF depositors said they were going to employ a freelance investigative journalist to get to the bottom of the cauldron of corruption they clearly believe the Isle of Man is. That was March. We still wait. On KSF, in our editorial opinion columns, we have called for a full public investigation several times. On the MEA affair, we were the first media outlet (some say we have a monopoly, but we do have three radio stations to compete with and specialist business publications such as Money Media - plus some websites that purport to 'tell the truth' about the Island) to have a full interview with Mike Proffitt, the chief executive in charge of the MEA when the unauthorised loan was taken out. His side of the story was far from the same as the government's, of course. And, of course, during the hearing in which he gave evidence, we ran on page three of the Examiner 'Former MEA boss accuses Bell of lying to committee'. It was also blurbed on page 1. Do you really think a media company that bowed and scraped to politicians would have reported that in that way? Meanwhile, the electricity price rise mentioned by DNW is reported on page 1 of this week's Examiner. Paul Speller, the former Manx Independent columnist mentioned by PM, is our news editor. He has a busy job and just got to the point where he didn't have time to write the column any more. That's a shame because, apart from anything else, he writes very well. I'm pleased to say he made a re-appearance in the Examiner a couple of weeks ago in the Quirks of Life column. He got some fan mail. You're probably bored by now. And I appreciate the irony of someone in my position moaning, effectively, about being given a bad press here. We do investigate. Sometimes, we cannot stand up a story. There is a difference between hearing something in the pub and that something being true enough to print (and so cast-iron that we won't be sued). Just because you've heard something is true, doesn't make it so. Just because the newspaper doesn't report what you've heard doesn't make the paper a bad paper. It means either: 1. Nobody has told the paper 2. We have heard and failed to stand it up (either because it's not true or we haven't been able to substantiate the facts to a high enough standard.) I can tell you, hand on heart, that the only people who have ever stopped a story appear in our papers have been our lawyers. If you have a whiff of a good story or a scandal, let us know. We will investigate. We do investigate. But we have to be able to stand it up. Handing us documentation (we will protect our sources) will help. As I write this, I can hear one of our reporters having a bit of a row with a member of Tynwald. We've found something he'd much rather we hadn't found. It is cast-iron, though. And we shall be doing a story on it. RICHARD BUTT, EDITOR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
censorship Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Richard Butt is going after the politicians... Wonder if that'll include his dad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squelch Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Where is that text taken from manshimajin? Look on the Isle of man today newspapers site, in Your say. It is the editors reply to some of the points raised in the Investigative Journalism topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Richard Butt is going after the politicians... Well he needs to justify IOM Newspapers' extortionate advertising rates somehow I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted August 4, 2009 Author Share Posted August 4, 2009 Where is that text taken from manshimajin? Mea culpa - by the time I had finished reading it and copied it over I was utterly exhausted. Yes IoM Today "Your Shout" "investigative Journalism" thread. Maybe I am unkind but I get a feeling the papers 'scratch the surface' but do not (possibly for legal reasons) really make the politicians sweat by researching not just 'What' they decide but 'Why' they have decided the way they have - and what alternatives they considered. Without knowing the background some decisions look very suss... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I think he has a point the paper has improved a fair amount since he took over. Still too many grim faced 30-something women with an axe to grind and articles by John Gregory for my liking but generally quite good. You'd think he'd know better than to reply to goading from the grotesque people that haunt the comments section on iomtoday, that God they're not here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Voice of Reason Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 grotesque people that haunt the comments section on iomtoday, that God they're not here. unfortunately some are (assuming you meant "thank" not "that") Anyway quite a robust defence from the editor of the paper(s). Let's hope that this is the way he intends to continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 dooo - I hate it when I make errors like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 dooo - I hate it when I make errors like that. wowwww a new headline on IOMToday "Declan is human after all " Never ever pull me up for a spelling mistake again Declan...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I've never picked you up on a spelling error John, if I did that, I'd have to pick out every one, and there are only 24 hours in a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I've never picked you up on a spelling error John, if I did that, I'd have to pick out every one, and there are only 24 hours in a day. lol ok, maybe you are not a member of the spell-check polize !! Still its really nice to know you are only human after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I think he has a point the paper has improved a fair amount since he took over. How do you think it has improved Declan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I think he has a point the paper has improved a fair amount since he took over. I'd agree - the Courier is definitely more absorbent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananaman Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 I'd agree - the Courier is definitely more absorbent. I find it always leaves an idelible impression on me that can last for days though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemonday Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Quality Investigative Journalism reaches la la land. I look forward to dimly lit videos of fake middle eastern potentates ( iom newspaper reporters with tea towels on head ) being filmed in a luxury suite at the Sefton handing over well stuffed brown envelopes to local 'dignitaries' in return for cocaine, call girls and permisson to build skyscrapers. * Legal disclaimer* I am not in anyway suggesting that the Sefton would admit anyone wearing a tea towel on their head for any purpose legal or otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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