Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Whipping The Sun's Whip Column

It's always been a mystery to me why The Sun actually pays anyone for writing their pisspoor Whip column. The whole column is usually lifted from other sources, often blogs, and today's is a good example.

The first 'story' is about Health Secretary Patrica Hewitt forgetting Jack McConnell's name. This appeared on this blog on Monday. The second 'story' says that 7,000 people have watched Guido's video of Gordon Brown picking his nose. They couldn't even get the decimal point right - it's actually 70,000. The fourth 'story' concerns Hazel Blears' email mistakes - nothing new, just a rehash of what has appeared on several blogs. So, three stories out of five which could have been written in about ten minutes flat. FACT: The Whip employs two people who cost The Sun well north of £100,000 a year in salaries. Couldn't they just use a blog aggregator and get an intern to write it?

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you after the job?

Anonymous said...

God you are so big headed

Iain Dale said...

page 3. No! Why is that whenever I write something like this people think I am after a job?! I am quite busy enough thank you.

Benj. I was born like it.

Newmania said...

Iwas wondering if Guido who is the most "investigative" blogger (fair?) might get the 2007 Paul Foot award in Private Eye for his outstanding work on the Sith and its innumerable demonic manifestations.
It would be a nice comment on the times , in which the left do not wish to look in case they see something and the right are the heros of justice and the people.

What do you think . ...and how do you know Chris Whiteside at University when he went to Bristol and you were at East Anglia .... eh ?
STOP PRESS
NEWMANIA exposes Dale in fib . Nomination for Paul Foot Prize Certain.

Bum Bum Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Anonymous said...

"The first 'story' is about Health Secretary Patrica Hewitt forgetting Jack McConnell's name. This appeared on this blog on Monday"

Pot, kettle, black? You lifted it straight from the Scottish press after Hewitt's STV interview. Ehy don't you sack yourself & replace this blog with a syndicated feed from NewsNow - where all your 'stories' come from.

Unknown said...

McConnell Story was first on tartanhero blog - unless Scottish television is now showing in England, Iain?

Anonymous said...

Blog aggregator is a cumbersome phrase. Let's have a new word: "bloggregator."

Anonymous said...

Trumpeter L: I like your new word very much. It sounds like a very fierce reptile with a long jaw and lots of lovely sharp teeth - ideal for supervision (and chom,ping where required) of some of the comments which appear on certain blogs. Steve Irwin would have approved of such a creature.

Anonymous said...

// oops .. chomping ... sorry

Anonymous said...

That's terrible, Iain.

BTW, did you hear Hazel Blears hasn't got any pictures of Tony Blair in her deputy leadership campaign literature? I did - Simon Hoggart pointed it out in the Guardian a month a go.

Anonymous said...

What is sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander...

Anonymous said...

PC ALERT! PC ALERT ! Anonymous [10.30 a.m.] used the phrase "pot kettle black" thereby encouraging the use of the word "black" in a pejorative sense. Someone call the police.

Anonymous said...

newmania - if Guido wins the Paul Foot award then I will EAT my foot.

The bloke might win an investigative journalism award were it not for 2 things - he doesn't investigate stuff with any level of impartiality, and second, he is not a journalist as he doesn't worry about little things like truth and accuracy.

Old BE said...

I wish I was paid 100k a year to keep up to date with the political gossip!

Anonymous said...

polly glott said...

// oops .. chomping ... sorry

11:12 AM

Thawt the werd woz achwaly "champing" but aparently "chomping" iz now axcepted

Iain Dale said...

Newmania, Sorry to shoot your fox, but Chris did his post graduate degree at UEA when I was in my final year there.

Anonymous 10.30 - I was emailed about it by a leading SNP figure.

Can I make clear that this is a) not a newsblog, b) I don't get paid anything to write it

Anonymous said...

Iain,

I think you're just bitter because the Sun pulled their Page 7 "hunk" and you have nothing to ogle when doing the papers reviews on the Beeb!

Anonymous said...

Perhaps one half of The Whip has her mind on other matters...see the UK Press Gazette for scurillous detail...http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/120207/axegrinder_20070209

Anonymous said...

I'll do it... - it may become a little more obscure but I think I would bring a certain unique perspective...

gammarama.co.uk said...

You do get paid to write it, hence all teh bloody adverts!!

You were not the first to break the Jack Mac story as Bop Piper points out:
http://www.bobpiper.co.uk/2007/03/oh_dear_biter_bit.php

jailhouselawyer said...

gammarama: I said the same thing or word to that effect but my comment appears to have disappeared.

Anonymous said...

100000? Bloody hel, they only pay me a tenner for my monthly ranting letter to the editor!