Dear Scotsman journalists
Here’s a friendly tip – this is why people think you’re all biased Unionist stooges:
The sort of corporate tax avoidance perpetrated by companies like Vodafone, Amazon, eBay and Starbucks is indeed a scandal. It is, however, a scandal that resides entirely at Westminster. The Scottish Government has no control whatsoever over corporate tax policy, which rests wholly in the hands of David Cameron and George Osborne. For a newspaper to instead illustrate a story on the subject with a giant picture of Alex Salmond, then – on the very flimsiest of contrived justifications – is exactly the sort of thing that’ll lead people to believe you’re pursuing some sort of agenda.
(Given that the First Minister has absolutely no influence on how much tax Amazon pays, all he can do is at least try to get some benefit from them by securing hundreds of jobs for Scotland, rather than having them go elsewhere in the UK or Europe.)
So in 2013, please spare us all your hurt protestations of injured feelings at the terrible unfair slight on your integrity when awful cybernats say you’re Unionist mouthpieces. Because while your paper looks like a duck, walks like a duck and acts like a duck, nobody’s going to hear your complaint above all the quacking.
Agents of the British State.
You have hit the nail on the head as to why I no longer buy the Scotsman nor visit their website and have advised my friends to do the same. Hence a drop in circulation if my actions are replicated by others.
Can’t wait to see that bunch flushed down the toilet post-independence. fed up with their nonsense.
It is interesting to note that even unionists are criticising this particular article.
I’m actually looking forward to seeing The Scotsman in 2014. I imagine that all photos of Salmond will show his horns.
In many ways it is tragic to see what has become of a once great newspaper. However, it is now just taking the absolute piss with their monumental stupidity and lies. No wonder their circulation figures are plummeting.
It really is amazing how, Johnston Press manage to keep going, seeing as we the owners of the banks who loaned them £352M are unlikely to ever see a return for our investment. Its not only their political stance which is crap, its their financial acumen as well.
Cuphook says:
28 December, 2012 at 5:33 pm
I’m actually looking forward to seeing The Scotsman in 2014. I imagine that all photos of Salmond will show his horns.
I somehow doubt you’ll get the chance. Funny how they seem to think that the way to postpone their inevitable demise is to be even more biased. RIP sometime in 2013 would be my bet.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This sort of deceitful gutter press will hinder rather than assist the unionist cause. People don’t believe what’s wriiten in newspapers. The Scotsman has the same reputation as the Mail.
When they do print reasonable criticism of the SNP or reasonably question aspects of Independence most people will just dismiss it as more Scotsman lies/puppetry for unionist scaremongering.
Well done the Scotsman-keep it up!
@Dave Beveridge
I wouldn’t shed too many tears if it did but I think that it’ll keep on going for a while. I’m sure a word in the right ear would secure it funding, if needed, to see it to the end of 2014.
It will be interesting after independence to see the reaction of the media and individual journalists who are vitriolic in their desire for a No vote. Maybe the Scotsman will relocate to England like some of the die hard Unionists claim they’ll do.
It’s appears that the “Scotsman” is becoming increasingly desperate judging by articles like the above and the venom from unionist posters that it routinely allows in its comments sections.
It is all to no avail as no one takes it seriously any more.
I sense that the end of the “Scotsman” is nearer than we thought.
Cuphook
The Scotsman is printed in England, I think, so they are already there.
I suppose they would, if they wished to stagger on post 2014, need some reporters based in Scotland but, that hasn’t stopped them making up the stuff they do with a “local” team.
So they could really just continue they way they going, making up stories and printing lies until the cost of production and transport falls below revenue. Before that time they will be sold off, as will the Herald. After that it is anyone’s guess.
Oh those wacky, little, northern Britisher types!
I`m looking forward to headlines such as “Alastair Darling warns: Vote Yes and your children will be smitten with a 1000 year terrible curse” or “Alex Salmond accused of eating Newcastle”, maybe “Labour accuse SNP of planning JFK assassination”, or , perhaps “Really important, completely unbiased Think-tank warns of hordes of African killer bees and locusts invading Scotland after independence, rendering Scotland uninhabitable, and causing mass exodus of Scots to plead for entry into a completely safe and thriving England”.
I just kind of imagine a village in Yorkshire or something, maybe an old Butlins camp, full of Unionist Émigré with The Scotsman as the village paper solely funded by advertisements for the local Ultimo Bra outlet.
@ yesitis
You forgot the impotence one…… but maybe that’s too close to home if he’salready on the Viagra!
Cuphook
The Prisoner!
I am not a number I am a Unionist!
Ho ho ho. That’s got to be one of the best ones yet. Next it’ll be ‘Family die in house fire’ with a pic of AS captioned ‘Alex Salmond has resisted calls for a ban on the use of electricity in homes’.
Been a great year; things seem to be moving along just perfectly. The British establishment is responding in exactly the fashion expected. It has used these same tactics every time a country has sought to leave Westminster rule. Suffice to say the success rate is well, rather low. In fact zero I believe.
Imperial Great Britain is breathing its last, dying breath. As with all empires, it will return to whence it began. The Gaussian empirical rise and fall reaches completion.
@Cuphook “I just kind of imagine a village in Yorkshire or something”
Maybe like New Lanark, but with union flags and bunting?
“Union World: A fun day out for all the family*”
*Please do not approach the monkeys, especially if wearing a red rosette.
Johnston Press share price at a current high of 0.14, down from a high of 2.75 five years ago.
@Peter A Bell , one moniker on there is a red herring ie Unionist and proud , developed when an anti indy supporter started using Indy now and such liike names , I know for I am UaP and love stirring the sheidt over on Hootsman, but the usual eejits all respond with attacks on independence
‘The Scotsman’ doesn’t need to make any money. It’s job is just to spread pro Unionist propaganda. Their funding is unlimited.
Johnstone press are Common Purpose and are buying up all regional and national newspapers and following the Common Purpose….. The UK in the EU.
Doing posts about them will hearten them and they will be grateful to you for the free publicity and links to their site.
I used to buy both the Scotsman and the SOS. Now I buy neither.
The choice of a Salmond pic would need some explanantion if the Scotsman was actually a newspaper rather than the comic I assumed it to be.
Johnston Press have been trading at less than 15p a share now for a whole year. They’ve went through a massive restructure programme which has seen big job losses, closure of editorial offices and titles. They’ve relaunched many regional titles, in particular their online presence. This is their battle of the bulge, a last stand, if it doesn’t work out by April I think JP will probably be finished.
Yeah the Scotsman is printed in Yorkshire I think. JP doesn’t have print staff in Scotland anymore. In fact, bizarrely, all the advert make-up and graphics is now outsourced to India. As someone said recently … “The Scotsman’s circulation is down 10%, it’s cover price has went up 10%, maybe they should concentrate on the paper being 10% less shit!”
It could be “METEOR TO STRIKE ALASKA!” and they’d have a damned picture of the man right below the headline. They are ironically treating him like the cult of personality type leader they claim him to wish to be with their outrageous slanders. His picture everywhere.
@S_S
“Imperial Great Britain is breathing its last, dying breath. As with all empires, it will return to whence it began. The Gaussian empirical rise and fall reaches completion.”
Couldn’t have put it better! So true.
Sorry for invoking the Godwin thingy, but as we continue on to the referendum day itself, I cannot help but envisage the scenes of Hitler in his bunker shouting and screaming defiance in an increasing state of mental collapse, while all around him the dream of the Third Reich and world domination crashes, burns and dies; just replace Hitler with the UK’s MSM and the Reich as the British Empire in your imagination and the similarities are uncanny!
The Scotsman. Hmmm.
Sham Scot net
Ten hot scams
Scam net shot
Cast’s on meth
Sent to chasm
Hmm, sounds like a story.
Worst ‘pictures’ ever –
Scotsman doctors (badly) a photo of Chris Hoy with Alex Salmond on the back of the bike alongside a shit article of the FM apparently getting on the back of Scots Olympic success for political purposes.
Herald doctors (badly) a photo of a forest, wind turbine and Alex Salmonds face looming over it in a completely misrepresented story on the effects on our forests of windfarms – an article the Herald had to apologise for the next day as being basically bullshit.
Although in terminal decline, the Scotsman and other “Scottish” newspapers will be propped up until the referendum in 2014, for the sole purpose of unionist scaremongering. This kamikaze strategy is already yielding diminishing returns, but the powers that be see no alternative but to plod on, and gain as much mileage as possible before the tank dries up (some may think they are already running on empty). It appears to be the same with Scottish Labour and LibDems – take the big hit in order to save the union. These parties are on a suicide mission to save the union. It’s all or nothing. Only the tories appear to be developing an escape route.
Earlier this year our local rag, ‘the Dundee Courier’, had a piece in their ‘Craigie’ column about some person who went to their chemist for something or other. The chemist didn’t have the particlular item in stock that the person wanted so they had to make a trip to another chemist’s. The blame for this major tragedy was laid squarely on the shoulders of Alex Salmond and ‘his’ Government.
It’s incomprehensible that so called newspapers should carry this drivel is it not?
Please. Stop buying these unionist rags. You are merely giving them money to allow yourself to be insulted. If you like crosswords then buy a crossword book. For articles buy a magazine. You can get all the news you need from the web. You do not need newspapers. The Scotsman should be the first one in our sights followed by the remainder of the enemy.
An independent Scotland will find people who can supply us with a decent press.
You do not need the Scotsman, The Herald, nor any of the others. It’s just a bad habit that makes you buy them.
Why anyone still buys the output of a hostile foreign media is beyond me.
@Andrew.
The key to this struggle is opening the eyes of those who are still blind.
Johnstone Press wear their heart on their sleeve with one of the Hootsmans sister publications.
The aptly titled “Bury Free Press.”
Says it all really.
Just returned from a couple of days at the Dragon in Laws, where she announced to the assembled company that ” There’s no way Scotland could pay it’s own way”
I firmly corrected her but didn’t take the Old Batriarch to task on the issue. Partly because I promised my wife I wouldn’t, and partly because it takes all my energy to maintain my force field to counter her death rays.
The point is that both she and her Husband are drip fed their information on a daily basis by the BBC, the Daily Wretched, and the Scottish (sic) Daily Express, and as long as these and other institutions seek to manipulate the minds of the young, the weak, and the lame brained, they actually do stand a chance of subverting the independence vote.
I sincerely hope the Yes campaign have a few aces up their sleeve, as I feel my In Laws are quite typical.
Ananurhing –
Sounds like your charming mawinlaw is the type the Better Together campaign are looking for as part of their 20,000 army – when we finally see the material they intend to stuff through our letterboxes, perhaps you could stuff one in hers. Reckon she’ll get off her arse and do anything?
Respect, and empathy.
Dear Ananurhing,
My sympathies. It’s the old dilemma: allow political ignorance and fatuous nonsense to go unchallenged in a family/social setting – or speak up and be accused of starting a fight and ruining the atmosphere.
I suggest, nevertheless, that 2013 is the year we all opt for the latter. Time’s running oot to reverse decades of brainwashing!
I am sure that the reason for the big photo of the First Minister of Scotland with this story is due to the Scotsman’s total admiration of the man. They would love to see him and his Government have more powers over taxation.
That way even the small ‘local’ – but printed elsewhere Scotsman which is only available for sale on the Royal Mile of Edinburgh might benefit in some small way come Independence.