The Newsroom

STV News

(January 2011)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
GM
Gary McEwan
STV are advertising for a new presenter as part of the lineup for the new STV News Tonight which launches next year.

Also to this they are looking for a new news editor and other various posts...

http://www.stvplc.tv/careers-content/stv-news

55 days later

:-(
A former member
This is NOT GOOD:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15029547.Journalist_in_SNP__gagging__row_quits_STV/

Quote:

THE senior STV journalist who was allegedly “gagged” by the SNP has resigned.

Digital politics and comment editor Stephen Daisley is to leave his job later this month.

Mr Daisley, who was with the broadcaster for five years, hopes to find work as a freelance writer.

Read more: Journalist 'gagged' by broadcaster after pressure from SNP

A friend said that he had felt “unsupported” by the management at STV.

His departure follows two SNP MPs complaining to his employer about his work, which often mocked the SNP and other parties, and STV then halting his articles on its website.

Pete Wishart, chair of the Commons Scottish Affairs Committee, told STV bosses last year that Mr Daisley’s output was “crap”, while culture spokesman John Nicolson complained about his social media activity.

Mr Daisley, who had written one or two comment pieces for the STV website each week from 2014 until they were terminated last July, was frequently controversial.

He called himself “a friend” of Labour, accused Jeremy Corbyn of supping with anti-Semites, and said the SNP was “expert at mining grievance from even the most innocuous act or statement” and had the “preponderance of zoomers” in Scottish politics.

The SNP MPs complained at an event held by STV managers at Westminster last spring.

Mr Wishart also criticised Mr Daisley on Twitter in June, asking whether his comments were his own view of “just the view of the ‘digital arm’ of the STV family?”

Read more: Journalist 'gagged' by broadcaster after pressure from SNP

That prompted Harry Potter author JK Rowling to ask Mr Wishart: “Is trying to intimidate journalists you dislike @theSNP policy or just a vendetta of your own?”

The following month, Mr Nicolson posted a dozen late-night tweets questioning Mr Daisley's ability and neutrality after he appeared to recommend an infamous Twitter account called Brian Spanner, which posted misogynist abuse of female politicians.

Mr Nicolson, a former BBC journalist, wrote: “[Daisley] is meant to be a neutral journalist - not an activist” and suggested Mr Daisley might be behind the Brian Spanner account.

When the Herald reported Mr Daisley’s articles had stopped, other parties accused the SNP of “gagging” him and criticised STV for “buckling to Nationalist pressure”.

Mr Wishart and Mr Nicolson subsequently confirmed on Twitter they had complained to STV.

Asked if he had mentioned Mr Daisley to STV bosses, Mr Wishart replied: “Yup. I think I also said his contributions were crap (or something like that). Said that because they mainly were.”

Asked the same point, Mr Nicolson replied: “Yes fleetingly - the issue of SD’s [Stephen Daisley’s] pro Spanner tweets and whether this was appropriate for an STV editor.”

STV, which at the time of the controversy said its output had “evolved”, has previously been accused of being too close to the SNP.

Read more: Journalist 'gagged' by broadcaster after pressure from SNP

Its Hogmanay show for 2015/16 featured Nicola Sturgeon, her sister and her mother as guests and was hosted by SNP supporter and independence campaigner Elaine C Smith.

It generated almost 100 complaints alleging political bias.

After the row over Mr Daisley last August, STV editor of news and current affairs Howard Simpson and digital editor Matt Roper both moved to BBC Scotland.

Writing in a newspaper yesterday about press regulation, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said Mr Wishart and Mr Nicolson “should be thoroughly ashamed of their attempts to silence those in the media who dare to question the SNP”.

STV refused to go into the background to Mr Daisley’s departure, however a spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that Stephen has resigned.”

The SNP and Mr Daisley both declined to comment.

SO
SOL
Except, it wasn't about a neutral journalist reporting on political parties, he had promoted several people on Twitter, one being Brian Spanner, whose account regularly used profanities about people. That is not something a journalist for a broadcaster should be doing. I believe he'd already been warned after tweeting from STV News' account as well. It's a non story.
GL
globaltraffic24
He was an STV gamble which turned into a nightmare. The broadcaster was looking to try the opinion led blogging concept online, which is something Sky News and the BBC do now. The problem was that Daisley wasn't just a journalist. He has worked for Labour and was entrenched in the party. He carried a lot of baggage and it reached a stage whereby almost every blog and article was an attack on the SNP - not over policy decisions, but normally over tittle tattle and fake scandal. His days were always numbered, regardless of what two MSPs said. I'm personally not an SNP voter but I feel STV did the right thing. It has positioned itself as the national broadcaster while the BBCs hands are tied. It needs to maintain high standards and I think this action was aimed at maintaining this rather than appeasing a political party.
NE
newsman1
SOL posted:
Except, it wasn't about a neutral journalist reporting on political parties, he had promoted several people on Twitter, one being Brian Spanner , whose account regularly used profanities about people. That is not something a journalist for a broadcaster should be doing. I believe he'd already been warned after tweeting from STV News' account as well. It's a non story.


Very apt surname.
NE
newsman1
He was an STV gamble which turned into a nightmare. The broadcaster was looking to try the opinion led blogging concept online, which is something Sky News and the BBC do now. The problem was that Daisley wasn't just a journalist. He has worked for Labour and was entrenched in the party. He carried a lot of baggage and it reached a stage whereby almost every blog and article was an attack on the SNP - not over policy decisions, but normally over tittle tattle and fake scandal. His days were always numbered, regardless of what two MSPs said. I'm personally not an SNP voter but I feel STV did the right thing. It has positioned itself as the national broadcaster while the BBCs hands are tied . It needs to maintain high standards and I think this action was aimed at maintaining this rather than appeasing a political party.


But STV isn't really a national broadcaster in Scotland - it doesn't reach the Scottish border area on terrestrial TV. Furthermore, it acted the fool a few years ago by opting out of most ITV drama shows.
:-(
A former member
He was an STV gamble which turned into a nightmare. The broadcaster was looking to try the opinion led blogging concept online, which is something Sky News and the BBC do now. The problem was that Daisley wasn't just a journalist. He has worked for Labour and was entrenched in the party. He carried a lot of baggage and it reached a stage whereby almost every blog and article was an attack on the SNP - not over policy decisions, but normally over tittle tattle and fake scandal. His days were always numbered, regardless of what two MSPs said. I'm personally not an SNP voter but I feel STV did the right thing. It has positioned itself as the national broadcaster while the BBCs hands are tied . It needs to maintain high standards and I think this action was aimed at maintaining this rather than appeasing a political party.


But STV isn't really a national broadcaster in Scotland - it doesn't reach the Scottish border area on terrestrial TV. Furthermore, it acted the fool a few years ago by opting out of most ITV drama shows.


It covers over 80% of the Scottish population. Its your own opinion STV acted a fool, if you read the real behide that court case, you would understand why it happened. It was going to happen sooner or later.
PC
p_c_u_k
"Is the next post dreaded?" was an appropriate footnote to the post introducing the Stephen Daisley situation to this forum.

STV was always walking a tightrope introducing comment on to its website. There is no rule against this, and other broadcasters have done the same, but not to the same extent. The situation was rather frustrating because he's a bloody good writer and his pre-referendum and immediately post-referendum stuff was a great read, and quite balanced. I think he let people screaming about him on Twitter get to him, and his contentious nature afterwards was always going to be jumped on by some. I hope he comes back as a newspaper writer because he has more to give, and doesn't allow this whole situation to overshadow his content.

Whether SNP MPs Pete Wishart and John Nicolson (formerly of the BBC News Channel - in fact the person who broke the news of 9/11 on BBC1) actually had him gagged or whether STV came to the conclusion this wasn't worth the hassle of their own accord is a disputed point, and not one I care too much about, but the MPs were foolish to get themselves embroiled in it. It's not a good look.

Since Daisley and his contributors became less contentious and tweeted less personalised links to their stories I can't say I've had much cause to look on the STV website since all this finished - it's very rare a story is that good on the site that I haven't heard from somewhere else.
NJ
news junkie
STV has announced that Halla Mohieddeen is the anchor of STV News Tonight.

https://stv.tv/news/scotland/1379125-anchor-of-flagship-stv-news-tonight-show-announced/

18 days later

:-(
A former member
This evening news come from Aberdeen, who is that reading it? Could this be give people test runs before the launch of local news bulletins?
GM
Gary McEwan
This evening news come from Aberdeen, who is that reading it? Could this be give people test runs before the launch of local news bulletins?


David Shanks from STV North. He's been a journalist for a while now.

15 days later

:-(
A former member
Both the central belt programmes has temp newsreaders today:

Gordon Chree, Covering Edinburgh edition,
Rachel McTavish Covering Glasgow edition.

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