After Spiers The Herald sack Angela Haggerty
The toiling Glasgow based broadsheet, which sold an average of less than 35,000 copies between January and June 2015, made the decision after she had tweeted her support for Graham Spiers.
On Wednesday the Herald issued an apology after an article by Spiers had claimed that one of the current Sevco directors had told him that he found the anti-catholic Billy Boys a great song.
During the Sevco v Hibs match on December 28, broadcast by BT Sport and Radio Scotland, The Billy Boys was being sung by thousands of supporters from all four stands at Ibrox.
As well as speaking up in support of a fellow journalist it seems that Haggerty’s ‘crime’ was editing Phil MacGiollabhain best selling book ‘Downfall’.
After joining the independence supporting Sunday Herald last year she has come in for increased attacks on social media with little apparent backing from her employers or Police Scotland.
Reacting to her sacking she told Bella Caledonia: “The irony of this happening less than a week after my column about intimidation at the hands of Rangers fans is just beyond belief and I’m feeling quite upset about the whole thing tonight. I’ve been sacked simply for expressing support for a fellow journalist. They’ve just reinforced the mob mentality.
“I’m deeply saddened and disappointed by this decision. This is a very dark day for freedom of the press in Scotland. This dangerously reinforces the behaviour of all of those who have targeted me since 2012 with racist and misogynistic abuse, as well as more sinister threats and harassment. At times I genuinely fear for my safety in this environment.
“The only positive that can come from this is for all of us to respond with an even louder message: we will not be intimidated, we will not be silenced and these campaigns of harassment have no place in Scotland. It has gone on for far too long.”
Earlier this month Newsquest, which owns the four titles, Herald, Sunday Herald, Evening Times and The National announced plans to axe 25 jobs, the fourth round of redundancies in just over a year.