THE National Union of Journalists has said it is prepared to ‘name and shame’ individuals and organisations that seek to intimidate its members.
Noting “a growing hostility to journalists doing their jobs, as is already evident in sports reporting on issues such as the Old Firm [football clubs, Celtic and Rangers]”, a statement issued by the NUJ’s Scottish executive council says: “The NUJ will not accept this treatment of their members and have already advised a number of journalists in making legal complaints to the police. We will also name and shame individuals and organisations that continue to threaten or bully our members.
“More widely, the NUJ asks those in positions of leadership to consider carefully the implications of their attacks on journalists for asking challenging questions. If that is to be interpreted as bias, and therefore the journalist is deemed to be open to personal criticism and abuse, then the nature of public debate will be debased, and we will all suffer.
“We also challenge news organisations, and editors, to question their own values when they give column inches or airtime to attacks on journalists from rival organisations. As journalists, we need to ask where that leaves our role, collectively, in holding those in power to account.”
Today, in a parallel development, The Herald reports football pundit, Pat Nevin, saying he has received death threats for anti-sectarian comments he has made.
On Tuesday, BBC Scotland presenter, Isabel Fraser, invited Labour MP, Ian Davidson, to apologise for accusing – live, on air – Newsnight Scotland of bias in favour of the SNP. He declined.
