If there is one thing that most of the local blogging community don’t like it’s when one of us is forced to remove their blog. No this isn’t about Eastciff Richard, Thanet Life or One Voice this is about the vanishing of the only blog by a local journalist.
The only inference I can draw is that local politicians didn’t like what he was writing on it and told the bosses at out main local paper to stop him.
Were I living in a banana republic I would of course expect this sort of thing here in England though the home of political satire, if our politicians can no longer laugh at themselves, god help us.
Below a sample from the offending blog I shall be interested to see if I am asked to remove it and who by, you may wish to ponder who doesn’t want you to read it.
These are some of the Smudgers that could not make it into the paper.IT was Easter Sunday and Sandy Ezekiel and his best friend OBE were tucking into creme eggs and dunking chocolate fingers into them when there was an almighty earthquake. Suddenly Jo Gideon appeared and told them not to be afraid and suddenly created a technical evaluation and public consultation. Residents flocked to their house at the news of the consultation but when they opened the front door they found the Thanet Tsar and OBE gone.“Don't be afraid,” said Jo, “I know that you have come to see Sandy and Rog. They are not here, for they have risen. Come inside and see the place where they were eating eggs.” The people went inside the house and found it empty, just as Jo had told them. “Go quickly and tell the others that Sandy and Rog have risen from their beds, and they are going to Margate where you will see them.” No one believed the constituents but later on at a full cabinet meeting Sandy and Rog were seen with strange brown markings on their mouths and suddenly everyone agreed that they both had been eating eggs. Just like they said they would.DID you know that the leader of Thanet council has his own cereal? As we all know Ezekiel was a prophet and priest in the Bible who prophesied for 22 years in the 6th century BC.Crafty church goers have turned a passage from Ezekiel (4:9) “Take also unto thee wheat and barley and beans and lentils and millet and spelt and put them in one vessel and make bread of it,” and turned it into a 100 per cent flourless sprouted grain cereal.The puff reads: “This biblical cereal is truly the staff of life. Yeast free, no added oil, no artificial flavours.” A bit like Sandy I suppose.THE winners of Thanet’s smokefree local business awards were presented on National No Smoking day last Wednesday.There were over 20 entries for the awards, set up by Thanet council, which recognise those local businesses that have followed the law since it came in last July.Smudger feels this is somewhat pointless and assumes that awards will be given out to those who haven’t stolen a car, robbed a bank and the top 10 people who paid their road tax.At a glittering ceremony hosted by Cllr Jo Gideon trophies will be given out to everyone who follows the law. It will be called “I didn’t break the law.” Smudger has been given a special trophy because he didn’t dump black bags in the middle of the road.THE council’s new yoof publication, Youth Matters, is back bulging with Easter details to keep kids entertained. However, what you may not realise is that if you haven’t received your copy you can ring 577050, and if you add 5, 7, 7, 0, 5 and 0 you get 24, which is exactly how many pages the magazine consists of. Smudger thinks that to really get the Yoof interested you have to have some animated adventures with the councillors. It would be a bit like the Fantastic Four. Financial mega-brain, Martin Wise, would become a giant talking calculator called Professor Wise who battles negative numbers and inverse ratios. Tourism legend Roger Latchford would become Corporal Bark, a talking dog who goes around imprisoning evil-doers in art galleries when they graffiti. Exalted leader Sandy Ezekiel would become Sandyman, clad in a tight PVC suit with utility belt containing high-speed consultations and sustainability appraisals that fly through the air at 132mph. The whole show would be called Cabinet Combats: The fight for freedom.Not surprising really.
Thomas Morris
News, Local history and Thanet issues from Michael's Bookshop in Ramsgate see www.michaelsbookshop.com I publish over 200 books about the history of this area click here to look at them.
One can perhaps see why his Ed ask him to cease!
ReplyDeleteBertie ceasing is one thing, but these are professional journalists, and the message that deleting sends out to all of us is that a local journalist is being gagged. It is not possible that they wouldn’t understand this, no journalist deliberately hides their writing unless the hiding is a louder message that the writing. Loud silences have been one of the most powerful tools of journalists in oppressed regions for hundreds of years.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I blog anonymously is precisely because I'm under no pressure whatsoever to say or do what anyone else wants. It also helps being of, er, independent means in that there's no sway from any employers etc. Plus I have no political ambitions to cloud my opinions.
ReplyDeleteOnly when local councillors start making blunderbuss accusations of libel do I get a bit chary!
PS: Deleted my earlier comment as the cat trod on my 'return' key half way through composing it.
Peter I suppose I publish about a third of the material that comes my way but once written to remove it is another matter altogether, and sends out a competently different message, the message in this case being that we do not have a free press, and to remove everything is the equivalent of shouting this.
ReplyDeleteThe Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it
Omar Khayyam
Richard while agree with your anonymity which allows you to post things that I can’t, if we reach a situation where no prominent individual, journalist or politician dare express an opinion or crack a joke without a cloak of anonymity, we are going down a very dangerous road.
I am lucky in that my employer is me and I have approached the problem by not affiliating myself to any organisation or political party.
With me children usually cause the deletions and other mysterious and peculiar anomalies.
Streuth if that's typical of young Thom's ramblings, then I'm glad he has had to shut down! Iwas almost aslpee before I'm halfway through that piece.
ReplyDeleteLocal reporters are meant to remain neutrals for the benfit of their readers. It is readers/listeners who should be allowed to make up their own minds for the information put before them.
Nick, Whitstable
Sorry that should have been ASLEEP earlier. Obviously, I wasn't completely awake when replying.
ReplyDeleteMistrakes in tryping, it's called.
Nick
Nick I have had some dealings with the press over the years, but so far have never encountered a neutral reporter.
ReplyDeleteIf I'd been Thom and wanted to post in that vein it may have been better as anonomous. Journos are entitled to their opnion, but I can imagine that strong an opinion of local dignitories would well rub the paper up the wrong way. That said, hardly anything criticial of TDC gets into the Gazunder, so perhaps he was bursting for self expression?
ReplyDeleteThe Daily Fail and similar papers employee women writers precisely to see how many people they can offend (especially other papers writers) so why shouldn't a jurno write such stuff (admittedly some style and formatting guidance might have helped but the potential for very funny was there).
ReplyDeleteTalking of getting someone to look at your work - I need to double check things more often - eek! Sorry about that.
ReplyDelete