THE SNP’s culture spokesman has refused to apologise for branding Scots journalists “lazy”.
John Nicolson, himself a former BBC journalist, provoked a backlash on Twitter with the comment, with reporters posting examples of their hard work.
The row started after a late-night tweet by SNP MP Pete Wishart, the chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, complaining about the state of the Scottish press.
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He wrote: The biggest regret is that Scotland is just spoiling to have a diverse, involved, new, analytic, intelligent MSM [main stream media]. And it would sell....”
Mr Nicolson responded: “One of the extraordinary aspects of election as a new MP with a passionate pro free speech agenda is how lazy this lot is.”
In August, Mr Wishart and Mr Nicolson were accused of contributing to the “gagging” of the STV’s digital politics and comment editor Stephen Daisley, after his columns were dropped following complaints from the two men about the broadcaster’s coverage.
Scottish Labour culture spokesman Lewis Macdonald said: “John Nicolson should apologise for his ill-informed attack on workers in the Scottish Press.
"At a time of intense market competition, there are hundreds of journalists, photographers, production staff and other employees who work incredibly hard to keep the nation informed - which frequently involves anti-social and long hours. To accuse the Press of being 'lazy' is therefore an insult to all those who work in newsrooms across the country.
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"Mr Nicolson has become a vocal critic of workers in the media in recent weeks, and he should not be using his position on the Commons culture, media and sport committee to attack the industry at every turn. A vibrant, investigatory, free Press is a cornerstone of our democracy."
LibDem MSP Mike Rumbles added: “As a former journalist himself John Nicolson should know better. Abusing hard-working professionals for doing their jobs is utterly wrong. Shooting the messenger seems to be the default media management strategy of some senior SNP figures."
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Mr Nicolson, the MP for East Dunbartonshire since 2015, said: “As a journalist myself for more than 25 years, I have always championed my profession and the need for a vigorous and independent Scottish press.”
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