We have a new winner of the Mary Dejevsky Award for Shoddy Writing. Anthony Barnett has the ludicrous job title of Investigations Editor of the Observer. Today he reveals that Hans Rausing has given £100,000 to the office of Oliver Letwin. This is how he starts his story...
"Dr Hans Rausing, the secretive Swedish billionaire industrialist who created the Tetrapak packaging empire, has given £100,000 to the Westminster Office of Oliver Letwin, the Shadow Home Secretary."
I repeat, "Oliver Letwin, the Shadow Home Secretary". Not very good at investigating is he? Don't newspapers employ sub editors any longer, or do they trust £100,000 a year Investigations Editors to at least get the positions of Shadow Cabinet Ministers correct?
'biollioanire' seems that he cant spell either. Or was that your typo?
ReplyDeleteWhat's ludicrous about being "Investigations Editor"? It would appear to be a fair description of what he does, even if his fact-checking is awry in this case. Most of the Sunday broadsheets depend on investigative journalism for at least part of their "news" coverage; David Leppard at the STimes is "Insight Editor" but what he does is largely investigative journalism.
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of blowing my own trumpet here I blogged about this earlier today, although I missed the obvious clanger of getting Letwin's job wrong. It really is a ridiculous non story.
ReplyDeleteYou and me both Ross F...
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the NotW's Fake Sheik uses the same title.
Perhaps one should create a scale for this sort of thing, with units of account called "Dejevs", or possibly "Pilges".
ReplyDelete(By the by, apart from the misunderstood office of the hapless Letwin, is the rest of the story about cash from this Swedish cove actually untrue..?)
Hans Rausing shows up as having donated £198 000 in 2004 on the Electoral Commission's site, so the intrepid 'investigating editor' of the Observer clearly didn't take the 30 seconds needed to check that before averring "Rausing, who lives in an East Sussex mansion, shies away from publicity and has never made his political loyalties known until now".
ReplyDeleteAnd furthermore, as any fule kno, it was Hans's dad, Ruben Rausing who created the Tetrapak empire.
ReplyDelete