The most recent edition of NUJ’s in-house magazine, “The Journalist”, carried a short news item concerning myself.
It did not break any news to me as I had been fully apprised of the subject matter.
However, I did not feel I could write about it until it was in the public domain.
It was regarding an action that my branch (Derry & Northwest Ireland) had taken against NUJ member and Herald writer Mr Neil Cameron.
The origins of this case stretch back to May 2016 when he tweeted the following about myself.
For the avoidance of doubt, the allegation that a journalist fabricates news stories is one of the most damning that can be laid at the door of anyone in this trade. It is highly defamatory.
My first response was to seek an informal mediation through the good offices of a senior member of the union who was in my branch.
He readily accepted the brief and approached the Father of the Chapel (FOC) at the Herald.
For the uninitiated, the FOC is the NUJ equivalent of a shop steward and, yes, we have many Mother of Chapels, too (MOC).
The chapel itself (which can be set up in a workplace with three NUJ members) is the basic collective unit of the union.
As Mr Cameron was a staffer at the Herald this was deemed to be an appropriate approach.
Despite numerous attempts by several stakeholders, including the then full-time Scottish organiser of the NUJ, Mr Cameron refused to enter mediation to resolve this matter amicably and informally.
Dear reader, had my request for mediation been acceded to then you would not be reading about this.
Faced with a brick wall apropos any conciliatory sit-down, I was forced to make a tough choice.
I could either let this allegation go unchallenged or seek recourse through the mechanisms of the union.
Mr Cameron received due process within the structures of the NUJ.
It was with a sense of relief that I received a letter on the 24th January this year from the union stating that:
“The complaints panel carefully considered the matters before it and it was the findings of the panel that the respondent had not provided evidence to support his assertion made on Twitter that the complainant ‘made up’ stories or read them elsewhere. As a result, the panel found that the respondent had failed to show the complainant the consideration and respect that was expected of him as a responsibility resulting from his membership of the NUJ in contravention of Membership Responsibilities (b) (i).”
I wish to record my thanks to all the full-time and lay officials who processed this complaint by my branch about Mr Cameron.
Also, míle buíochas to my friends and comrades in the Derry North West Branch for their unswerving support and encouragement throughout this process. They all saw the necessity for this formal course of action after Mr Cameron’s repeated refusal to enter mediation on this matter.
Mr Cameron had two and a half years to gather evidence supporting his claim that I invented news stories or read them elsewhere.
In the end, he could not do so because no such evidence exists.
It is important to note that I do not know Mr Cameron and, importantly, he does not know me.
I have never written about Mr Cameron and I do not intend to write about him again.
I now consider the matter closed.
On a football note…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47667742
I wonder if the SPFL will take notice?
Ok . Ok. I know the answer !!!
Excellent. Calling out those who persistently peddle myths driven by an establishment narrative about their favoured club(s) – past and present – is a breath of fresh air in a generally rancid environment. Keep up the good work, Phil.
Stopped buying it when they proposed employing Donald Findlay as a sports columnist. Anyone else remember that? I’ve scoured the web but it seems to have been excised from history
Glad you got ‘a result’ in this…
I was not aware of this insult being a taboo in journalism but can understand it as it’s a questioning of the root principle of the ‘business’.
I have to admit to guilt in this myself though. Whenever I hear or read the words “Record Sport Understands” … I generally take it to mean –
“Here’s some guff we’ve made up!”
Pot and kettle come to mind when it comes to the Scottish media as a whole.
I notice that you didn’t mention the point about being vile and hating journalists “he knows nothing about”…
Would this be based on him knowing nothing about you?
Of course … you don’t have to know anything about a journalist to form an opinion on their work.
Mr Cameron clearly doesn’t get this.
My family still in Scotland all stoped buying the Herald years ago. It’s quality and impartiality has been in decline for over a decade and seems to have allowed itself to be dragged down to the level of others rather than set an example to aspire to.
A waste of trees now. It will not survive even when online only.
Sorry if I have missed it, but is there no punishment, even a slap on the wrist, for Cameron. Appears to me that the union has basically issued you an apology, but he hasn’t done anything to retract or apologize.
Is that it? Doesn’t appear to be an outcome that would make him hesitate to do it again.
No need for words in this instance Phil.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I’ve just heard McLeish state that he thought Scotland started brightly today!
Thank God we didn’t start slowly!
The SFA has employed a man who looks ill and sounds ill.
Those clowns at Hampden have no idea what they are doing, as if we didn’t already know.
He looks and sounds as if he doesn’t want to be there.
Will San Marino be the end of the road for McLeish and his backroom staff or is it the case that the SFA can’t afford to terminate their contracts?
Well skelped, Phil. HH
Phil – that “newspaper” or its “journalists” are not worth the effort. I received an online “sine die” for the cardinal sin of calling out an online troll, who just so happens to enjoy burying his tongue deep between the cheeks of a few of their sports “journalists” – in particular, Mr Chris Jackass. Since I am not permitted to comment on their stories, I choose not to read their garbage. That paper is written for windae-lickers by windae-lickers! If I was an arsonist, I wouldn’t even use that arserag to light my next fire. I include their evening rag in this too
I myself suffered the same fate for much the same thing mate. They certainly don’t like being called out for their poor,for want of a better word,journalism.
“written for windae-lickers by windae-lickers!“
I like that so much I’m stealing it!
Too late!! I’m led to believe it is now officially that rag’s motto!
Did he not make the same claim about Keith Jackson who introduced Craig Whyte to the world as a billionaire with wealth off the radar, or did that not suit him or the Herald’s agenda?
Cameron and his ilk have a brass neck to make accusations against others as they continue to propagate the big lie that Newco is Oldco with absolutely no explanation as to why Oldco having finished 2nd in the SPL, didn’t participate in the following seasons Europa Cup!
Nor did they explain why the Oldco players were able to walk away from their contracts to find new clubs without any benefit to the Ibrox club.
If Bolton go into liquidation it will be interesting to see how the Scottish media report on it if a Newco Bolton rises from the ashes.
Good result Phil. Handled with appropriate dignity. With some notable exceptions, the journalism trade is at an all time low here in Scotland.
Is that it?
Doesn’t Neil Cameron have to issue an apology or retract his original tweet?
Phil, you gave the man enough time to respond, no one likes to take matters like this further, but he gave you no choice. No one has the right to slander anyone.
Well done Phil – I personally stopped buying and reading The Herald a few years back when they shafted Spiers & Hagerty when they dared to go off script. Circulation dropping steadily with no way back.