I’m not here to
Kevan Christie notes the lack of Elgar, jam roly- poly and Union Jack waistcoats in The Scotsman’s office
LI am in no doubt that in the minds of some folk, The Scotsman goes to print every night to the strains of Edward Elgar’s classic Land of Hope and Glory as we all stand to attention and salute a giant picture of the Queen, having earlier filled our bellies in the ornate dining hall with the finest Beef Wellington, jam rolypoly with custard and all washed down with lashings of ginger beer.
We then retire to the pub for some frothing ale, before working out the latest ruse to bring down the Scottish Government and the Indyref movement while the ‘ office junior’ is left alone to toast our muffins.
But forget the Pomp and Circumstance in this never- ending tartan version of West Side Story, the Nats and the Yoons never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn. For the reality is somewhat different.
In the current climate of change for newspapers as we move from print to digital and cater for a new
audience with different demands, there simply isn’t enough time to cultivate a cunning SNP- toppling plan, or to lay a trap for Labour. Agendas are not at work; good stories are. A quick look around my workplace sees varying political hues and ages with two of the main topics of conversation being what we call Inane Football Banter ( IFB) and “is it someone’s birthday?” – so we can have cake. There’s actually quite little political chat – we’re all too busy for that – and there’s not a Union Jack waistcoat to be seen.
We may not have the paper’s 200- year- old pledge of “impartiality, firmness and independence” tattooed on our foreheads, but I know of no reporter who has ever been asked to skew a story in favour of one political party or another.
I don’t cover politics as health is my beat but no- one who works at The Scotsman can fail to notice the vitriol that pours our way from the pencils- up- the- nose, underpantson- the- head online brigade. They live Beyond the Wall in that bitter hinterland known only as ... the