The Herald’s decision to sack Angela Haggerty has created a storm for the ailing Glasgow broadsheet.
Haggerty was ditched from her role at The Sunday Herald after tweeting her support for Graham Spiers who produced a statement at odds with the Herald apologising for comments made in an opinion piece about the singing of The Billy Boys at Ibrox.
Condemnation has come from various publications, from politicians with even the heavily censored state broadcaster reporting on the statement issued by the National Union of Journalists.
Responding to the criticism, without mentioning Haggerty, the Herald issued a statement saying: “A Graham Spiers column published on heraldscotland in December made a claim about an un-named member of the six-strong board of Rangers.
“This presented a legal issue which had to be addressed and which was discussed at length, by all parties involved.
“The issue was whether we could defend in court a contentious statement and the advice given was that we could not. Finally, on clear legal advice, we were left with no option other than to apologise and seek to draw a line under the matter.
“After the apology was published we had to abide by it and the spirit in which it was published. Unfortunately that apology was then undermined and we had to take appropriate action.
“Our titles have a long history of supporting quality journalism and defending free speech and robust comment. This made all the more difficult the action we had to take.
“While one of our advertisers is on the board at Rangers that was never an issue and we shall continue to report and comment on the pressing issues of the day without fear or favour.”
I don’t know @angelahaggerty but I do admire her. She stood up for a colleague and got fired because of it.
— Oliver Holt (@OllieHolt22) January 29, 2016
This is truly a disgrace. Journalistic freedom must be robustly defended. https://t.co/rYa4tMyblS
— Patrick Harvie (@patrickharvie) January 29, 2016
When it comes to counting friends, let me say @AngelaHaggerty is a very dear friend of mine, and will always be a friend to me
— NeilMackay (@NeilMackay) January 29, 2016
Distancing himself from the decision to fire Haggerty, Neil Mackay Editor of the Sunday Herald tweeted: “Important: the decision to remove @AngelaHaggerty as Sunday Herald columnist was not taken by me but by the editor-in-chief Magnus Llewellin.”
Responding earlier to the issue Dominic Bascombe, assistant organiser NUJ Scotland, issuing a statement saying: “The NUJ has already defended Angela over the bullying and harassment she has suffered for doing her job. The axing of her column sends a message that The Herald is unwilling to stand up for its contributors and is willing to sacrifice journalists when commercial interests are involved. This is totally unacceptable.”
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said it was “outrageous that commercial meddling has led the Herald to sack a respected columnist. This pandering to the mob does the freedom of journalism and the reputation of the Herald no favours. We call on the editor to reinstate these columnists at once.”
With the story being covered by The Guardian, the BBC and media publications such as the Press Gazette, Hold The Front Page and The Drum the reputation of The Herald is taking a pounding.
The Herald is on it’s deathbed.
They have just signed their own death warrant………hell mend them.
Don’t buy their stinking rag !
HH
The Herald, not fit to wrap a fish supper in, crash and burn, you don’t have enough readership to care.
The Heralds latest pronouncement on this shameful episode is an affront to those journalists concerned. It merely serves to aggravate their, all too clear, willingness to sacrifice any of the fundamental jouralistic principles they may once have held when confronted by commercial bully boy tactics. On the matter of defending the assertions made in the original article, it is clear, that from what Graham states, they had the best evidential case for so doing i.e. that of corroboration by another reputable and highly credible witness.
Every Celtic fan should stop buying any of the Scottish papers as they are nothing more than Hun lapdogs.
Totally agree absolute rags
I will never buy that rag ever again as it is riddled to the very core with ‘honest mistakes’
I’ve seen Rangers fans calling Spiers (one of their own remember) Do they really want him to name the director in question.Is this what’s in store for us with Rangers presumably back in the top league
I wish I used to buy the herald so I could stop buying it.
A paper that was never comfortable with Catholic journalists – check out its “staunch” history.
Hark the herald angels sing
Sacking A.H. because she’s a Tim,
Keep yer head up Angie, you’ll soon get a job,
As for that editor? A total knob!
you know you can read herald articles online without buying a subscription by deleting their cookies in your browser , not that im encouraging anyone to read the stinking rag , but its good to deny them the income if you do .
As a retailer and Rangers fan from Ayrshire. I am removing The Herald from my stand . We need good honest reports weither we like what is being said or not, It is better to know the true than hide from it for financial reasons.
Well said mate
I like your view mate speak the truth even though it hurts at times.
Maybe the words of the song should be “Hallo, Hallo, we are the Bully Boys”.
This lot are so offensive. It was ever thus, once the Establishment realised the power of people after the Russian and French Revolutions. Thus they sought to divide the populace and with the immigration of the Irish and the hateful mindset in the Govan shipyards, the scene was set to encourage division. Those with a modicum of intelligence do NOT fall for this claptrap. Those with real intelligence are disgusted by it. It is only the fools who fall for it. It exists over the border as well, but not as forcefully as there are other mechanisms to divide the populace down there.
What would the Union do without encouraging sectarianism? This is so depressing.
There seems to nothing coming from the Dark Side other than ill will towards others who do not agree with them and find their actions distasteful.
Everybody outside that disgrace of an organisation believes that they have no real desire to change. They changed their signing policies in response to threats from Uefa, otherwise that might never have happened.
So much for free speech in our wee country.
Say your prayers Herald, because you are now terminally ill.
I believe there is no cure for you, just like I believe that there is no cure for the RIFC
All true football fans should avoid all the red tops.they only pander to one club that is the most bigoted club in world football.
Its time thesevred tops realised that there is more than 1 team in Scotland .There is more better and honest news online on various blogs than youbwill ever get on any cut and paste red top.
God bless Angela Haggerty the public have had enough.this is just the begining of the end for the Scottish football bigoted meria.
HAIL HAIL YNWA
The Herald has just signed its own death warrant. Well done Magnus llewellin. You have consigned this erstwhile Scottish media institution to an ignominious end.
Shamefull act from this newspaper and should be condemned from every quarter.
Basically condoning the behaviour of bigots ,deary me.
Would love to know the source of ‘ severe pressure ‘ that Speirs mentioned that apparently forced the Herald into to the apology they printed in regards to his opinion piece.
Nothing to see here move along…!!..:)
“The issue was whether we could defend in court a contentious statement and the advice given was that we could not. Finally, on clear legal advice, we were left with no option other than to apologise and seek to draw a line under the matter”
Hang on a minute, isn’t there an e-mail trail with said unnamed board member at Sevco and Mr Spiers?
Someone isn’t telling the truth!!
The way it works is stuff can be said “non attributable” but it was still said. Can I just point out the Scottish MSP for culture or sport or bigotry or whatever he was lauded the Billy Boys at a televised game. If this was an issue how is that guy still in a job?