Despite what The Guardian pretends, this is not an apology. It is vague, fluffy, unaccountable waffle drowning in management bullshit, wanting to be seen to do the right thing without actually doing the right thing.
In case you missed what it's all about, click here.
This is what the Daily Express should have printed.
"We're sorry.
Major British newspapers should have realised with The Sun's disgraceful coverage of the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989, is that a newspaper – no matter how big or how small – does not dictate the views of its readers.
We are truly sorry for the hypocritical, and insensitive article about the survivors of the Dunblane massacre. A newspaper should hold as its cornerstones honesty and integrity. When Paula Murray befriended the victims of our article on Facebook, she was dishonest to them, and dishonest to us, and dishonest to Facebook, and dishonest to you. By lambasting the actions of our victims for indulging in common recreational activities such as drinking alcohol, she also acted without integrity.
Scottish Sunday Express readers expect us to shine a light on the wrongs in our society, to expose the crooks, and highlight the hypocrites. Today, we must shine that light on ourselves. It was hypocritical, dishonest, and wrong. It was clear that the intention of the journalist was to dishonestly intrude upon the private lives of individuals who suffered horrific experiences, and did so deliberately with spiteful intent and a malicious compliance to the letter but not the spirit of the law respecting privacy in this country.
We are sorry that neither Ms Murray, not the sub-editor, nor the chief editor Derek Lambie demonstrated appropriate judgement in this instance. It will not happen again. There was a wholesale instuitutional failure of the paper to uphold the principles and codes of the industry. As a result of this gross misconduct, a wilful ignorance of ethics and codes of practice, and thus an embarassingly public display of gross misconduct, those responsible have had their employment terminated with immediate effect.
We, The Express, have let down the public and undone the good work of the our colleagues nationwide in the rest of the industry. We are sorry and have learnt our lesson. It will not happen again."
1 comment:
Note how the Have Your Say thingy is disabled on that story, so anyone saying to them "this apology if fucking lame" has no outlet for their justified rage.
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