ErsatzThistle Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 (edited) Is it possible to turn on the TV or radio, open a newspaper, open a web page or pass a bookshelf without seeing this posh hipster or something authored by him, telling us how dangerous the SNP are or how Scotland is going downhill? This self proclaimed "expert" on the SNP, Salmond and Sturgeon is bloody everywhere. off Tory boy ! That is all. Edited December 28, 2015 by ErsatzThistle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kumnio Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Having met him at Dundee Uni, the guy is a complete bellend in real life as well. Pompous and in love with himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I like him. He seems switched on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil r Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 No idea who he is but if he can make a grown man rant at the internet like the OP is then fair doos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Return of Yermaw Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 as a "neutral" political journalist, his weekly anti-SNP diatribes have reduced any credibility he has/had. Not that it matters - the majority of the MSM employ the same approach and are completely unashamed about their partisan approach. the state of journalism in Scotland is truly shocking. Below is the headline from Torrance's latest opinion piece in the Herald. As Labour were imploding, going to war and paying lip service to devolution, where was the likes of Torrance then I wonder.......... David Torrance on the SNP: Rarely has such political success rested upon so little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffer Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I like him. He seems switched on. Get back under your bridge...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exile Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 as a "neutral" political journalist, This is the crux of the matter. If he and the other columnists just fessed up to their allegiances, (like New statesman unashamedly left leaning, Spectator right leaning) then fine, but the pretence of neutrality is hypocritical and ultimately damaging to them as people stop believing them. Magnus Gardham even had a SNPbad column on Saturday... I noticed the Herald now carries a strapline under the editorial saying it doesn't support any party or movement - how long has that been there? What does it mean? I suppose independence is a movement but the status quo isn't? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Get back under your bridge...... I live in a house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErsatzThistle Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 This is the crux of the matter. If he and the other columnists just fessed up to their allegiances, (like New statesman unashamedly left leaning, Spectator right leaning) then fine, but the pretence of neutrality is hypocritical and ultimately damaging to them as people stop believing them. Magnus Gardham even had a SNPbad column on Saturday... I noticed the Herald now carries a strapline under the editorial saying it doesn't support any party or movement - how long has that been there? What does it mean? I suppose independence is a movement but the status quo isn't? The last few months has seen the Herald lurch noticeably from being tentatively pro-SNP to largely anti-SNP. The two Magnus' are panicking at the SNP's growth. Think they are both more Lib Dem inclined ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giblet Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Only time Ive seen him wear a suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grim Jim Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 He's probably the main reason I stopped buying the Herald. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Only time Ive seen him wear a suit. I've no idea who he is, but seeing this... I take back the below. I like him. He seems switched on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaid Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I've no idea who he is, but seeing this... I take back the below. Former SPAD to Fluffy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossy Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 The problem is that every single Scottish political commentator writes through either a pro or anti-SNP prism...mostly anti-SNP...based solely on their Unionist/Independence supporting leanings. There's simply no such thing as a 'neutral'political commentator in Scotland, and there's no such thing as a 'neutral'political article. Torrance's piece in The Herald is a good example of this. Intelligent, articulate, concise......but ultimately utterly and completely biased and skewed, simply because Torrance is pro-Union. It professes and pretends to be neutral and un-biased, but it isn't. It's simply another 'SNP baaad' article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld_Reekie Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Far too many opinion pieces these days. I don't remember them ever being this common until last 5 years or so. Maybe I'm misremembering. I want to read a newspaper. If I wanted opinions I'd buy a tardy magazine like OK or the Viz. The proliferation of opinion pieces is a sign of lazy journalism. Fills pages without the need for going and doing actual journalism. Torrance, Massie et al have been milking it for years now writing the same stuff over and over. Not bad work if you can get it. And this stands both ways... I'm not particularly bothered about reading opinions of Joan McAlpine either. Said it before. My opinion of journalism has never been lower and in 2015, probably spent less than I've ever done on newspapers. You try and point that out to some of them and you're a bitter cybernat and closing down debate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exile Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 The last few months has seen the Herald lurch noticeably from being tentatively pro-SNP to largely anti-SNP. The two Magnus' are panicking at the SNP's growth. Think they are both more Lib Dem inclined ? When the Herald was 'tentative' it was fine, it kept you switched on, you read the article and judged it on the merits of its arguments. Now, you can more or less tell from the headline what side the conclusion is going to be on. It wouldn't even matter if it was just opinion pieces, but when you realise the whole news is filtered ths way, and what is considered news is framed by the same mindset, you lose trust in the whole thing. So for example, for all I know the health service is in crisis, or Salmond made a howler in Iran, but how to know, when you work out it's Labour making the health accusation, or an ex Tory MEP critiquing Salmond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padre Andrew Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 The loss of Ian Bell will see the Herald tested. He provided balance to the other columns. Everyone acknowledges it will be difficult to replace him, but whatever they come up with will have to provide some kind of balance. Given the SNP’s standing in the polls it’s amazing to think there are no mainstream outlets other than the National and the Sunday Herald which write anything favourable. There must be a market out there for a pro-indy red top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giblet Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 The problem is that every single Scottish political commentator writes through either a pro or anti-SNP prism...mostly anti-SNP...based solely on their Unionist/Independence supporting leanings. There's simply no such thing as a 'neutral'political commentator in Scotland, and there's no such thing as a 'neutral'political article. Torrance's piece in The Herald is a good example of this. Intelligent, articulate, concise......but ultimately utterly and completely biased and skewed, simply because Torrance is pro-Union. It professes and pretends to be neutral and un-biased, but it isn't. It's simply another 'SNP baaad' article. Its a huge problem with the journos at the moment. There is no middle ground. You have probably 90% spouting an anti SNP agenda. Articles seem to now being released just to see how much noise can be generated denigrating them. had high hopes for Stephen Daisley from STV , during the indyref he was almost neutral. Since then , bizzarely, he has turned into a zionist right winger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotlad Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I like him. He seems switched on. Yes, I'd quite like to see him switched on too. (Disclaimer: if anyone from the Express, Mail, Record, Scotsman or Scottish Labour Party is reading this post, I don't really want see David Torrance electrocuted to death. It's just a joke.) as a "neutral" political journalist, his weekly anti-SNP diatribes have reduced any credibility he has/had. Not that it matters - the majority of the MSM employ the same approach and are completely unashamed about their partisan approach. the state of journalism in Scotland is truly shocking. Below is the headline from Torrance's latest opinion piece in the Herald. As Labour were imploding, going to war and paying lip service to devolution, where was the likes of Torrance then I wonder..........David Torrance on the SNP: Rarely has such political success rested upon so little The real danger here is if the MSM, particularly the press, continue to attack the SNP in emotive and partisan terms over often fairly minor issues, people will gradually stop paying attention to them and any deserved critique of the government will go unheeded. That isn't a healthy place for a democracy to be in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotlad Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 The loss of Ian Bell will see the Herald tested. He provided balance to the other columns. Everyone acknowledges it will be difficult to replace him, but whatever they come up with will have to provide some kind of balance. Given the SNP’s standing in the polls it’s amazing to think there are no mainstream outlets other than the National and the Sunday Herald which write anything favourable. There must be a market out there for a pro-indy red top. The 'one party state' accusation which often gets levelled at Scotland really does amuse me. Scotland must be unique amongst one party states in that the ruling government is continually attacked in the media and only one daily newspaper is sympathetic towards it! Its a huge problem with the journos at the moment. There is no middle ground. You have probably 90% spouting an anti SNP agenda. Articles seem to now being released just to see how much noise can be generated denigrating them. had high hopes for Stephen Daisley from STV , during the indyref he was almost neutral. Since then , bizzarely, he has turned into a zionist right winger. We're in a strange place just now where even some journalists who were supportive of a Yes vote, like Iain MacWhirter, are behaving like they have to attack the Yes movement and/or the SNP for the sake of it just to be seen as credible. I think the printed media in general are panicking like f*ck just now because more and more people are using the internet as their main source of information. It must be an emasculating experience for them, the fact that fewer people are hanging on their words. Even more worrying for them must be thought that their livelihoods are possibly in jeopardy; I can empathise with them there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exile Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 because more and more people are using the internet as their main source of information. This was seen I think in both Torrance and Gardham's recent pieces - they were referring to things on the internet/social media, without saying specific sources. so they were having to acknowledge their existence as part of the 'national debate' (to provide something to argue against) but without wanting to give them the credibility of naming them. But if you were someone who only read papers and watched the tv, you might be bewildered as to what is #snpbad and who are these unnamed voices opposing the columnists' cosy consensus... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Return of Yermaw Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 The 'one party state' accusation which often gets levelled at Scotland really does amuse me. Scotland must be unique amongst one party states in that the ruling government is continually attacked in the media and only one daily newspaper is sympathetic towards it! We're in a strange place just now where even some journalists who were supportive of a Yes vote, like Iain MacWhirter, are behaving like they have to attack the Yes movement and/or the SNP for the sake of it just to be seen as credible. I think the printed media in general are panicking like f*ck just now because more and more people are using the internet as their main source of information. It must be an emasculating experience for them, the fact that fewer people are hanging on their words. Even more worrying for them must be thought that their livelihoods are possibly in jeopardy; I can empathise with them there. The "one party state" criticism that is regularly trotted out these days really shows the hypocrisy and desperation of the "opposition". Not once was this line of attack used (I could be wrong but I never heard or read it once) when Labour led the Scottish Government, had over 85% of Scottish MPs, was in power at Westminster, had control of the majority of Local Authorities, was backed by the Record, the Scottish Mirror, for much of the time, the Scottish Sun (and favourably covered by The Herald, the Evening Times etc), and had intertwined themselves with BBC Scotland. That level of support, control and propaganda was on a par with that seen in North Korea and previously the Eastern bloc. Yet after years of ignoring this happy status quo (which even under the Tories at Wetsminster was still in play) it is only now becoming a serious concern. How dare people shift in droves from continuing to vote for a self serving dinosaur of a party and seek something fresh? That really is not democratic by all accounts unless of course the alternative vote is to another party seeking to maintain the Union. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Massie et al have been milking it for years now writing the same stuff over and over. I bumped into Massie in Scotland's secret bunker a while back. He was lovely and spent 15 minutes or so telling my kids about the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainmac1 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) I live in a house.Posh b@stard Edited December 29, 2015 by iainmac1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killiefaetheferry Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I bumped into Massie in Scotland's secret bunker a while back. He was lovely and spent 15 minutes or so telling my kids about the place. Unionist warmonger brainwashes children in secret British military shrine ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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