Journalist wrote column about cyber abuse and misogyny for the Sunday Herald
THE BOARD of the Common Weal think tank has sent a letter to Herald and Times Group editor-in-chief Magnus Llewellin raising concerns over his dismissal of Sunday Herald columnist and CommonSpace editor Angela Haggerty.
Haggerty’s regular Sunday column was cancelled after she tweeted her solidarity with Graham Speirs, a sports journalist at the Herald who left the paper after a threat of legal action from Rangers Football Club over one of his articles.
As editor of CommonSpace, Haggerty is an employee of Common Weal, which funds CommonSpace.
The letter from the left wing policy and activism group highlights the dismissal following her Sunday Herald column (23 January) which dealt with the subject of online misogyny and abuse which she had encountered following her editing of a book about the collapse of Rangers in 2012. In 2014, one man was sentenced to six months in prison for threatening her.
“This in turn appears to send out a pretty chilling message to any woman who in future has the courage to face up to misogynistic behaviour by documenting it in the pages of your publications.” Common Weal
Raising concerns over the relationship between the subject of the article and the nature of the dismissal, the letter reads: “On 23 January our employee and your then regular columnist Angela Haggerty wrote an article in which she discussed and explored some of the aggressive, misogynistic abuse she has faced to expose the extent to which this issue remains a very real problem in Scotland. Four days later you effectively sacked her.”
Haggerty was told that “representatives of Rangers Football Club” had brought tweets declaring her public support of Spiers to the attention of the Herald, prompting her dismissal.
Common Weal went on: “Even more concerning is the impression given that an organisation which is followed by the group of people whose misogyny she wrote about influenced the decision.
“This in turn appears to send out a pretty chilling message to any woman who in future has the courage to face up to misogynistic behaviour by documenting it in the pages of your publications. It is hard to see how they could have the confidence that you would stand by them if they did.”
Haggerty’s sacking led to a backlash on social networks and in the media , with many journalists and members of the public concerned over it’s implications for press freedom and the influence of powerful corporations like Rangers.
The National Union of Journalists, NUJ, said the development was “totally unacceptable”.
Dominic Bascombe, assistant organiser NUJ Scotland, said: “The NUJ has already defended Angela over the bullying and harassment she has suffered for doing her job. The axing of her column sends a message that The Herald is unwilling to stand up for its contributors and is willing to sacrifice journalists when commercial interests are involved. This is totally unacceptable.”
Click here to listen to Angela Haggerty discuss the latest incident on the Apolitical podcast.
A statement from The Herald said: “A Graham Spiers column published on heraldscotland in December made a claim about an un-named member of the six-strong board of Rangers. This presented a legal issue which had to be addressed and which was discussed at length, by all parties involved.
“After the apology was published we had to abide by it and the spirit in which it was published. Unfortunately that apology was then undermined and we had to take appropriate action.
“Our titles have a long history of supporting quality journalism and defending free speech and robust comment. This made all the more difficult the action we had to take.”
The Sunday Herald was the only major newspaper to support a Yes vote during the Scottish independence referendum campaign and became a champion of pro-independence arguments. The title is part of the Herald and Times Group of papers including The Herald, Sunday Herald, the Evening Times and The National, owned by the Newsquest company which incorporates more than 300 publications.
The story of Haggerty’s dismisal from her role as a Sunday Herald columnist was first published on Bella Caledonia .
The full letter can be read below:
Tuesday 2 February 2016
Dear Mr Llewellin,
We write to you as the Board of Common Weal to express our very real disappointment at the way the Herald Group of newspapers has behaved towards Angela Haggerty. We fear your actions raise unsettling questions about how a journalist who exposes misogyny is likely to be treated by your publications.
On 23 January our employee and your then regular columnist Angela Haggerty wrote an article in which she discussed and explored some of the aggressive, misogynistic abuse she has faced to expose the extent to which this issue remains a very real problem in Scotland. Four days later you effectively sacked her. Even more concerning is the impression given that an organisation which is followed by the group of people whose misogyny she wrote about influenced the decision.
Since Angela is our employee and not yours and as we understand she signed no contract with you, this decision appears to be an editorial decision, not a contractual one. As we understand it, there is no question over the legality of anything she has written or published on any of your news sites or in any of your newspapers. We therefore find it difficult to separate her sacking from the content of her column.
“This affair has consequences for all journalists in Scotland, for women who campaign against misogyny – and for the reputation of the Herald Group of newspapers.” Common Weal
This in turn appears to send out a pretty chilling message to any woman who in future has the courage to face up to misogynistic behaviour by documenting it in the pages of your publications. It is hard to see how they could have the confidence that you would stand by them if they did.
We want to pay tribute to Sunday Herald Editor Neil McKay who has stood by Angela and the column that she wrote.
We do not for a second doubt the pressures that the managing editor of a group of national newspapers faces. But in this case it seems that expediency has won out over justice or principle. For years Angela has faced vicious, personal attacks that no journalist should have to face and now, once again, it is her who is left facing the consequences of this decision. But this affair has consequences for all journalists in Scotland, for women who campaign against misogyny – and for the reputation of the Herald Group of newspapers.
Sent on behalf of the Board of Common Weal
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