liz gerard Profile picture
Long in tooth and sometimes claw, old poacher turns gamekeeper to watch the Press. EU citizen
Jan 13 16 tweets 5 min read
Yet another thread about #PostOfficeScandal and the Press.
@thetimes has today published a leader rightly praising some dogged journalists over the years and defending the national Press from people - like me - who ask couldn't they have done more
1/ Image @thetimes The leader says the scandal has been covered "thousands of times" in newspapers. The Times has, it says, published 383 stories, the Mail 343, the Telegraph 234, the Sunday Times 152.
These figures chime with those cited in a tweet by @MrHarryCole last week.
2/ Image
Jan 14, 2022 9 tweets 2 min read
Please correct me if I’m wrong. I often am.
I seem to recall that Russian people donated millions to various political people. There was evidence that they sought to influence the outcomes of the Scottish referendum and the US presidential election.
1/
There was so much concern about possible interference in our democracy that our Intelligence Select committee conducted an inquiry, under the chairmanship of Dominic Grieve.
2/
Jan 13, 2022 9 tweets 3 min read
Thread from another planet:
This is an extract from today’s Daily Mail leader, which is headlined “PM can bounce back from this humbling”.
First it describes his remorse as “sincere”, then congratulates his “masterstrokes”...
1/ ...Then it says that if he lifts remaining restrictions we will be 1st developed country to exit pandemic - and he will be a "hero".

Exit the pandemic?
2/
Apr 10, 2021 21 tweets 4 min read
OK, I’m going to regret this. But I’m going to throw this at you anyway.
I haven’t listened to the news for 24 hours. I haven’t watched live TV. I haven’t opened this morning’s papers.
(1/zillions) The Duke of Edinburgh died yesterday. He was 99. Outlived by Captain Tom. I’m sure the Queen will find it odd not to have him around after three-quarters of a century. But most of us will manage.
(2/)
Apr 10, 2021 7 tweets 3 min read
Always a challenge to strike the right note on the front with a story like #Philip. Not least the choice of picture - the way most think of him or a man in his prime?
ICYMI a few thoughts on today's offering.
First, it's not about *you* and *your* grief.
(1/) Yes, you want to tell people what's inside. But try to dial down the self-promotion. A "magical" supplement? And "historic *144* pages? That screams "don't buy me"
...and do we need to be told about a Monday supplement on today's front page?
(2/)
Mar 31, 2021 13 tweets 3 min read
A thread...
The “we’re not racist” drums are beating loudly and proudly today. If we’re truly making progress, that’s great.(1) ImageImage I’m particularly struck by what has been identified as the key cause for this celebration:

'Education is the single most emphatic success story of the British ethnic minority experience'

(2)
Mar 15, 2021 10 tweets 3 min read
This govt is busy pretending its #policing bill is about making people, esp women, safer.
That is why there is a whole section on protecting monuments, a whole section on shutting up Steve Bray, a whole section on protecting Parliament.
And nothing about women.
(1/2) Be in no doubt. From removing the whip from Remainer MPs to cowing the BBC to giving Priti Patel and police a free hand ban "noisy" protests they don't like, this Government is openly making it clear that dissent will not be tolerated.
(2/3)
Mar 14, 2021 5 tweets 3 min read
Mini thread....
Here are the first editions of today's papers. Royals heavy...perhaps as you'd expect as it's their first go after that interview. Kate obligingly provides a royal angle to the #SarahEverard vigil. Because the story on its own? Pah!
(1/?) Image The tabs are renowned for being nimble between editions. So let's have a look at what they did for their finals. Ah, The Mirror changed one of its sub-heads. The Express replaced the index with a bit about Priti Patel...
(2/?) Image
Nov 19, 2020 48 tweets 16 min read
This is going to be a very long thread.
It is about the #bbc and is timed to coincide with @penguinbooks publication today of The War Against the BBC by @peterpeteryork and Patrick Barwise.
1/ More particularly, this thread is about the way the BBC's media rivals - especially the Daily Mail - prosecute that war.
2/
Jun 14, 2020 13 tweets 5 min read
Good morning. Have seen quite a lot of my work on here under the hashtag #dontbuythemail as an answer to the question posed by this morning's Mail on Sunday.
So thought I'd offer a fuller picture (1/?)

@jamesfelton @stopfundinghate Some tweeps have used composites I created as part of an audit of the way the Press treated #immigration in the runup to #brexit. But they haven't used the most damning versions, so here is the full catalogue from the *Daily*, not Sunday, Mail over the past decade. (2/?)
Apr 8, 2020 9 tweets 4 min read
Lot of exhortations on here to "go and buy a newspaper". Which some of us think is a good idea, but one widely mocked by #dontbuythesun tweeters.
But suppose you did decide to venture to the newsagents, what could you buy today?
Well, obvs #covid19 is of abiding concern (1/?) Some seem to believe that @DominicRaab has suddenly acquired a medical qualification to go with his elevation to caretaker PM. And that a "fighting spirit" is enough to cure the sick.
(It isn't. And as @paulconnew1 points out, it's insulting to those who die)
Apr 2, 2020 22 tweets 9 min read
Brace, brace! Long #covid19 #journalism thread afoot.

(1)
@paulconnew1 @BrianCathcart @peterjukes @zelo_street @pguk10 @stevenjbarnett @Byline_Media After yesterday’s plain wrong #covid19 headline, the Telegraph seems to be doubling down on the idea that flu remains more dangerous. This time it cites research from @lshtm to produce the headline below.
(2)
Mar 22, 2020 13 tweets 4 min read
Far be it from me to defend Dominic Cummings, but please bear with me for some thoughts on that piece by @shippersunbound in @thesundaytimes.
(1/?) This is the bit tweeted by @johnharris ...

but it is *not* presented as a direct quote of something Cummings said. It is some unnamed person's interpretation of what he thought the strategy should be...
(2/?)
Oct 23, 2019 9 tweets 4 min read
A little thread inspired by this morning's @DailyMailUK front page, which suggests that the Palace is stoking hysteria about Harry and Meghan... Image @DailyMailUK We know the royal couple are sueing the Mail on Sunday. Which everyone in the Press deems "unwise". This little thread is just about the daily, not the Sunday, paper.
Aug 21, 2019 13 tweets 3 min read
A gloomy thread on guess what:

People are going to die because of #Brexit.
There are many reasons why people may die as a consequence of the 2016 referendum.
Not all will come to pass. But at least some will - and some already have.
So be in no doubt, people *will* die.
/1 They may die because they do not get the medicines they need.
They may die because of strains on the NHS through lack of staff.
They may die because a trade deal with Trump involves a revolution in healthcare that takes it beyond reach of the poorest.
/2
Jun 27, 2019 19 tweets 37 min read
Given the publication of this report by @briancathcart and a related piece by @julianpetley (see link), may I add to the mix a couple more observations about @kathy__odonnell's employment tribunal against @thetimes
/1

inforrm.org/2019/06/26/the… @BrianCathcart @JulianPetley @kathy__odonnell @thetimes As someone who has known Andrew Norfolk for many years as a fine reporter and liked him as a person, I’m uncomfortable with this wholesale attack on his integrity.

/2
Jun 14, 2019 11 tweets 2 min read
Ranty thread:
Please, someone - anyone - what can we do to restore sanity?
The Tories seem to be blind, deaf and stupid. They think they can save themselves by stealing Farage’s clothes after three years of Mayhem and by installing a lying buffoon in No 10.... Do they really think that ‘delivering brexit’ as a Hallowe’en gift will save their seats or their party?
Why would Leave voters choose a pale imitation of UKIP when they can have the rebranded real thing?
Why would Remain voters ever vote Tory again?
May 15, 2019 56 tweets 225 min read
This is a VERY LONG thread about #journalism #ethics #bias #transphobia #islamophobia and newsroom culture Please stick with it, there are some pretty alarming allegations coming up.
@thetimes @pressgazette @theguardian @privateeyenews @thetimes @pressgazette @theguardian @PrivateEyeNews This is a story from @thetimes on Saturday. It is one of ten that have touched on trans issues this month.
@jjohnjewell @sambrook @stevenjbarnett @ladaprice @docrussjackson @briancathcart
Mar 30, 2019 33 tweets 14 min read
Good morning.
Thread here on a tale of two marches.
This may take some time.
@RaymondSnoddy @mk1969 @amandaloviza @BCU_CBS @ThatTimWalker @Andrew_Adonis @campbellclaret
(1) Last Saturday, hundreds of thousands marched through London to ask for a second referendum on #brexit. It was announced from the platform that more than a million had taken part. There were certainly a lot.
(2)
Feb 2, 2019 32 tweets 8 min read
Some random thoughts about democracy.
#EUref was the biggest exercise in democracy in our history. Nearly 35m turned out to vote.
17.4m of them voted to leave the EU.
16.1m voted to stay in.

1/
The 16m all voted for the same thing: to leave things as they are. They will certainly have had different reasons for thinking that way and ideas about the future. But everyone knew exactly what they were voting for and what would happen if they won.

2/
Jan 3, 2019 12 tweets 5 min read
For those who might be interested, here is the final #chartofshame for 2018, with some random observations to follow

@sundersays @alantravis @briancathcart @ProfRobNewton @ladaprice @stopfundinghate The total - 92 national newspaper splashes - is the lowest since I started collating these charts five years ago.
(2/?)