For some time, I’ve looked for more signs of the SNP Government standing up to and correcting more often, the appalling standards of journalism displayed across the media in Scotland.
More recently, beginning I think, with then Health Secretary, Jeanne Freeman and now even the FM telling a reporter how plain daft his question is, there have been a few polite but firm rebuttals. Across social media, we now see Jason Leitch and others correcting errors quite often.
They clearly don’t like it put up to them and the doughty, doughy (?) Neil Mackay has ridden to their rescue.
Does anyone hate Mackay, in particular? Is he prone to writing infuriatingly inaccurate scare stories which anyone in their right mind might hate? Well, of course he has. It’s what he does. Here are a few recent ones:
Read more at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Mackay
And journalists generally, are they much trusted? From Ipsos MORI in 2020:
TV newsreaders despite often being former newspaper journalists have long been trusted more but, even across the UK, that is in steep decline.
As for folk like Mackay:
Below estate agents? That’s rough.
Readers will note the showing for profs like me though I’d like to challenge the truthiness of engineers working for the big corporations or a few old white male privately educated judges.
Talking-up Scotland 
The bully playing the victim, classic tactic by Mackay. No one trusts you Mackay!
Thanks professor, I will keep that list for future reference, a few anomalies there I’m sure, yes judges, hm.
Also ordinary people on the street, pretty low down, I mean you see some dodgy characters, but generally surely most people are trustworthy, interesting.
Car sales men aren’t included, but maybe best used as an analogy when required. 🙂
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Teachers trusted? Which disciplines most? Art?
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John on Sky papers last night I could hardly believe what I was hearing,Anna Soubry was backing our FM against the staunch Boris fan really praising her,this coming from a fervent Tory.
As for journalists they are very few I would trust we can just see that after FMQs questions.
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Interesting. Must try to trace the Soubry bit.
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Subterranean Guttersnipe Blues.
False flag, fake news, who’d wanna be in Neil’s shoes.
Not too bright, writes shite, got the journalistic blues.
Editor man (not a fan)|– “make the Nats out to be Rats,
Truth is like an acrobat, never mind the feckin’ stats”!
Look out Neil, its just your ol’ spiel,
Everyday lies, not some Very Big Deal.
Brit Natz itch, to find an inside snitch.
MI5 wanna make you their Bitch.
A “fool” hoop of poop, on an endless loop.
Aint no news scoop, you’re just a Loopy Dupe”!
gavinochilotree Dylan.
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Sorry, but I’m stuck near Maybole with the Mainholm Blues again
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Watch out—A Hard Snaw’s A-gonna Fall. Its Blowin’ in the Wind!
Then you’ll be stuck inside a mobile with the Mainholm blues—again!
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I note that accountants and actuaries (they’re folk who tried accountancy but found it too exciting) aren’t in your list of professions. Is that because they’re no longer considered professions or because they scored too low in the trust graph to be included
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I used to drink with an actuary whose claim to fame had been rejecting the application to insure the Exxon Valdez.
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O/T The BBC News website is reporting on a ‘big’ speech made by Kier Starmer today (4 January).
See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59862654
Speaking as is his habit now in front of union flags, he tells his audience that he leads what is a ‘deeply patriotic party’ and says that ‘2022 is a big year for the country’. But ‘big’ for whom and why?
He cites the following things which for him characterise this upcoming ‘big year’:
– the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
– Birmingham hosting the Commonwealth Games
– both England’s men’s and women’s football teams competing for international honours – well that’s what the BBC is reporting so it must be correct!
– the need to tackle some “big challenges” including “making Brexit work”.
On the scale of things that could make for a ‘big year’ for the many not the few given all the serious ‘issues’ facing the UK, how do the Starmer factors stack up ?
– a monarch’s birthday, even a ‘big number’ birthday, will come and go with little or more likely, no beneficial, tangible impact on the well-being of the vast majority of the UK population. Is this being seen by party strategists as an opportunity for Labour to out-compete the Tories over who can display most ‘patriotism’?
– hosting the Commonwealth Games happens somewhere every four years. What lasting, significant impact on the well-being of the majority of the UK population have previous Games in the UK had – unless of course we are to be sustained by the vicarious pleasure of gold medal winning and the patriotic glow that comes from the playing of a national (England’s?) anthem time and again in the space of a few weeks!
– England’s football teams competing during the year – one nation, one country against the world and that one is …. ‘England’? (By the way are NI, Wales and Scotland’s sporting teams having a year off from international competition in 2022?)
– ‘making Brexit work’ – is Labour now going to campaign to re-establish the custom’s union with the EU; re-join the EU single market; reinstate freedom of movement? And if not, what will it do? Is this just about a more competent pursuit than the Johnson government’s of otherwise similar ‘global Britain’ exceptionalism?
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It’s a dress rehearsal for next year when it will appear to be continuity “minus the pesky Scots who we gave up on years ago, and the ungrateful bastards didn’t even say “Bye and thanks for all the fish”, oh sorry, where was I, oh yes, abandoned the Union…”
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As Ken Loach said, in Starmer the Establishment have a leader of the Labour Party they can accept.
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