Thursday 24 November 2011

Opinion Management

Here is another stark example of how Jersey's State Media "opinion manage" rather than report "facts" in a Un-bias and objective way.


The Review carried out by BDO/Alto and Police consultant Mike Kellett, has been misrepresented by Jersey's Media, to such an extent that the report and the reporting of it bears little if any resemblance.


Below are some more findings of the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Sub Panel's (Parliamentary Select Committee) Report that you WON'T be reading about, or hearing about, in any of Jersey's State Media particularly in Jersey's ONLY "News"paper, The Jersey Evening Post.


The Sub Panel's Report will be buried by the Council of Ministers (Law Offices) and by the State Media because it exposes how true power in Jersey lies in how opinion is managed by the State Media.


The Sub Panel's Report should be read in it's ENTIRETY.


169. BDO Alto further maintained that Mr. Harper was not the subject of their review and it was not the intention of the report to be directly critical of him or of any other individual. BDO Alto said that they had acknowledged the hard work of Police officers and third party contractors during the course of the Operation Rectangle enquiry and confirmed that ‘The report is not intended to be in any way critical of their individual efforts….’139

170. Mr. Kellett reiterated this point in his submission:

The Review was not an investigation of any individual but was designed to ascertain what had occurred and to make recommendations for the future. Indeed, that much is clear from my terms of reference. [ ] The manner in which some of our conclusions were expressed was diluted precisely because we had not been able to speak to Mr Harper. Nevertheless, as he himself pointed out in his oral evidence, he made the bulk of the financial decisions and he therefore cannot absolve himself of the extremely serious and costly errors that were made.

171. Mr. Kellett made a point of praising the dedication of Mr. Harper and his determination to bring suspected offenders to justice:

We have no doubt that Mr Harper was totally dedicated to the task of investigating serious crimes that had possibly occurred at Haut de la Garenne and that he was entirely sincere in his belief that child abuse there and elsewhere in Jersey was a major issue that needed to be dealt with. Throughout the period that Operation Rectangle was live, he and his staff displayed great dedication and did their utmost to bring suspected offenders to justice and we pointed out as much in our report (Emphasis added). However, we were not asked to examine motivation and dedication but rather to look at how the resources available to the investigation were managed. We did so and made nineteen recommendations. Inevitably, because of the central role Mr Harper performed, his management of the resources formed a central part of our examination but to the extent that any of those recommendations constitute criticism of his actions, no criticism of, let alone attack on, the existence of the investigation or of the motivation for it is intended or implied. (Emphasis added) 132

173. The issues raised by Mr. Kellett’s declaration above (paragraph 170) that the review carried out by himself and BDO Alto was not intended as criticism of the police investigation is a serious point which we consider later in the section on the media coverage (section 6 of this report).

SECTION 6.

227. The publication of the BDO Alto and Wiltshire reports by the Minister for Home Affairs on 14th July 2010 was an occasion for highly critical attention on Mr. Harper. The Jersey Evening Post published an extensive six page report with headlines focussed on:

·           Celebrity lifestyle of Lenny Harper and his officers
·           Meals in top-class restaurants and first class travel at expense of tax payers
·           £42,000 – the overtime paid to a single officer in the first 15 months of the historical abuse enquiry
·           No dog’s life for handler with luxury hotel lifestyle
·           Hot on the trail of top London restaurants
·           Lenny Harper and his team enjoyed £90-a-head meals and travelled first class at taxpayers’ expense, an accountants’ report revealed
·           Off to Scotland Yard again
             .    First class on the Gatwick Express

228. The problem with the way the official review was reported is that it appears to take every opportunity to discredit, with the benefit of hindsight, those in charge of Operation Rectangle without any reference to the constraints and pressures under which the Police were operating during the early stages of the investigation. The emphasis on alleged misuse of taxpayers’ money risks implanting the impression in the public mind that the entire expenditure on Operation Rectangle was badly managed.

229. In contrast, the BDO Alto report notes:

In undertaking this Review and throughout the preparation of this Report we have been conscious of the fact that detailed scrutiny of any major inquiry will reveal errors, omissions and learning opportunities, particularly given the benefit of hindsight. It has not been our intention to be ultra-critical in our conclusions and we have attempted to be fair to all of those involved. 165

230. Mr. Kellett as previously mentioned (166 )made a point of qualifying the critical attention in the report with praise for the dedication and determination which police officers brought to the task of investigating child abuse:

We have no doubt that Mr Harper was totally dedicated to the task of investigating serious crimes that had possibly occurred at Haut de la Garenne and that he was entirely sincere in his belief that child abuse there and elsewhere in Jersey was a major issue that needed to be dealt with. Throughout the period that Operation Rectangle was live, he and his staff displayed great dedication and did their utmost to bring suspected offenders to justice and we pointed out as much in our report. However, we were not asked to examine motivation and dedication but rather to look at how the resources available to the investigation were managed. We did so and made nineteen recommendations. Inevitably, because of the central role Mr Harper performed, his management of the resources formed a central part of our examination but to the extent that any of those recommendations constitute criticism of his actions, no criticism of, let alone attack on, the existence of the investigation or of the motivation for it is intended or implied. (167)

231. No such qualification appears in the above press report. (Emphasis added)

232. Furthermore, the newspaper did not pick up on the fact that Mr. Harper had not been interviewed or given the opportunity to respond to the criticisms in the report. Nor, as far as we are aware, did the newspaper give Mr. Harper any opportunity to state his own perspective. (END)


These findings are a damming indictment of what passes for "Journalism" (Opinion Management) in Jersey and we invite readers to scroll back up and read the Headlines published by The Jersey Evening post remembering paragraph 169 of the Sub Panel's Report.

169. BDO Alto further maintained that Mr. Harper was not the subject of their review and it was not the intention of the report to be directly critical of him or of any other individual. BDO Alto said that they had acknowledged the hard work of Police officers and third party contractors during the course of the Operation Rectangle enquiry and confirmed that ‘The report is not intended to be in any way critical of their individual efforts….’139

38 comments:

  1. Is this all you are only ever going to talk about? Just stop buying the paper or watching the news if it means so much to you. I don't read the paper so couldn't care less what they decide to report on.

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  2. 232. Furthermore, the newspaper did not pick up on the fact that Mr. Harper had not been interviewed or given the opportunity to respond to the criticisms in the report. Nor, as far as we are aware, did the newspaper give Mr. Harper any opportunity to state his own perspective.

    If that's not being stitched up by the state media then I don't know what is.

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  3. "Is this all you are only ever going to talk about? Just stop buying the paper or watching the news if it means so much to you. I don't read the paper so couldn't care less what they decide to report on"

    Why don't you follow your own advice and don't read this blog.

    How simple is that.


    Keep going VFC

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  4. A couple of quotes from the PREVIOUS POSTING deserve repeating which should help keep thing in perspective.


    “Mick Gradwell, it is reported, was leaking confidential information during a live Child Abuse investigation, to a “journalist” with a history of supporting convicted paedophiles and still none of our State Media have asked “why?”

    "The attempts to divert this debate into discussions concerning the trivia of expense claims, is a scandal of which all involved should be thoroughly ashamed." Graham Power QPM.

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  5. "In undertaking this Review and throughout the preparation of this Report we have been conscious of the fact that detailed scrutiny of any major inquiry will reveal errors, omissions and learning opportunities, particularly given the benefit of hindsight"

    Hindsight, hindsight, hindsight. Look at that word very carefully. In that word is the essence of the whole problem of investigation and the subsequent opinion management.

    The media were fed by the likes of Shenton, Perchard, Warcup and Gradwell to trash the enquiry, along with Graham Power and Lenny Harper, AFTER it became clear from a lot of investigation that the worst speculations about multiple murder victims and organised S&M torture were (almost certainly) not true.

    Warcup and Gradwell in particular had a lot of career brownie points to score from ruthlessly exploiting convenient hindsight to trash those who started the investigation.

    Once the public's attention had been switched from "hideous out of the ordinary things may have happened here" to "ordinary, difficult to prove after all these years, abuse happened here" the nit-picking of costs and actions could begin. Everybody was invited to relax, reassured that they should have had a sneaking suspicion that the true picture all along can't have been that bad.

    It is just a small step from that for the opinion managers to sneak the idea into the public domain that if the public all along knew the truth, then why did the police "waste" so much money trying to find something that didn't exist and thereby traduce (click here to look it up) Harper and Power.

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  6. After reading this blog posting and the full scrutiny report there are two things of which I’m certain. 1. The state media have been well and truly rumbled by the scrutiny panel and 2. Trevor Pitman will be getting the Syvret treatment because of it.

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  7. RE; "2. Trevor Pitman will be getting the Syvret treatment because of it."

    Haven't read it (refuse to buy it under moral grounds) but word has it that the Jersey Evening Post has wasted no time, (in their Editorial today), giving Trevor Pitman "The Syvret Treatment". They are nothing if not predictable if this turns out to be the case.

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  8. Have the JEP read this bit yet? They have so much to answer for. They owe every Abuse Victim the most humblest of apologies. Will they get that apology only time will tell. Toxic in every way....

    "169. BDO Alto further maintained that Mr. Harper was not the subject of their review and it was not the intention of the report to be directly critical of him or of any other individual. BDO Alto said that they had acknowledged the hard work of Police officers and third party contractors during the course of the Operation Rectangle enquiry and confirmed that ‘The report is not intended to be in any way critical of their individual efforts…."

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  9. Part 227

    Didn't the Home Affairs Minister blame it all on the media not so long back. He was on the morning show saying how the media had got it wrong. What he forgot to say was that it was him that put it all out in the media. He even stitched up Mr Power with a dodgy Kangaroo court. This is what is so bad in Jersey. These bungling idiots just carry on, and on and on

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  10. Indeed do the JEP have no shame?

    MEDIA COVERAGE

    226. The BDO Alto review was an official review commissioned by the Minister for Home Affairs dealing with matters of legitimate public interest. The media has a right and even a duty to report fully on these matters. However, it is also important that the media give a balanced and complete picture. Our review has revealed a number of concerns about the media coverage of the BDO Alto report and its conclusions. We give a brief account of our concerns in this section of the report.

    Press Coverage of BDO Alto report

    227. The publication of the BDO Alto and Wiltshire reports by the Minister for Home Affairs on 14th July 2010 was an occasion for highly critical attention on Mr. Harper. The Jersey Evening Post published an extensive six page report with headlines focussed on:
    • Celebrity lifestyle of Lenny Harper and his officers
    • Meals in top-class restaurants and first class travel at expense of tax payers
    • £42,000 – the overtime paid to a single officer in the first 15 months of the historical abuse enquiry
    • No dog’s life for handler with luxury hotel lifestyle
    • Hot on the trail of top London restaurants
    • Lenny Harper and his team enjoyed £90-a-head meals and travelled first class at taxpayers’ expense, an accountants’ report revealed
    • Off to Scotland Yard again
    • First class on the Gatwick Express

    228. The problem with the way the official review was reported is that it appears to take every opportunity to discredit, with the benefit of hindsight, those in charge of Operation Rectangle without any reference to the constraints and pressures under which the Police were operating during the early stages of the investigation. The emphasis on alleged misuse of taxpayers’ money risks implanting the impression in the public mind that the entire expenditure on Operation Rectangle was badly managed.

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  11. You refer to this paper as the filthy rag in your past posts yet still expect it to report things like 'you' want them to read. Hipocrites!

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  12. Maybe it is time the States Assembly formed a further Scrutiny Panel, formed of members from both the right and left of the political spectrum, which should look at the efficacy of the State Media. By efficacy I mean the efficient, accurate, unbiased reporting of events on the island.

    ahimsa

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  13. Ahimsa.

    That is a recommendation in the Report.
    “It is essential that a future Scrutiny Panel give serious consideration to undertaking a review which will look specifically at the kind of issues we have identified in this report.”

    As for the commenter who has this to say
    “expect it to report things like 'you' want them to read.”

    We merely want the Jersey Evening Post to act like a “News”paper and not a propaganda machine.

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  14. "You refer to this paper as the filthy rag in your past posts yet still expect it to report things like 'you' want them to read. Hipocrites!"

    Get a life, you got your blog to moan on so keep it there. VFC and its followers are only asking for unbiased reporting nothing more nothing less so grab a stella and troll elsewhere.

    If i am worng on this VFC and you really do just want them to only print your view then dont post this.

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  15. A reader has submitted a comment stating, “hate” and “fact” neither are true. Should the reader wish to revise their comment, taking out this lie, then it should get published.

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  16. VFC

    You and Rico do great work. One can only applaud the tenacity you two have shown over the years. One of the greatest compliments you can have is that no one has hit you back with an alternative view that is of any substance. There is a bigger picture here. Stay on the game and keep pressing on. Mosquitos will always annoy. In Jersey they hang out all year round. The work you do is top notch....

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  17. Christie Tucker,where are you!?

    We miss your giggles and dumb remarks....

    Not.

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  18. A little reminder as to what the State Media HAVEN'T been REPORTING.

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  19. The thing is the JEP can report or say whatever they like as they are a private company, the same applies to Channel 103 and Channel TV (although they do have a certain balance requirement under OfCom rules). The BBC HAVE to be impartial.

    The big question is what impact the massive amount of subsidy the JEP get the from the government through the Gazette section has on what they report.

    Jersey could do with a second newspaper - although the island, with its relatively tiny population - is very lucky to have one daily paper - most places in England don't have a daily paper for that size of population anymore.

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  20. VFC

    Maybe you can help your troll get some desperately needed emotional rest by requiring that his publishable rants contain some factual basis.

    Elle

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  21. Jersey Politician, Deputy Montfort Tadier, tell's us some more about Jersey's ONLY "News"paper THE JERSEY EVENING POST

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  22. Just tried posting this on Monty's latest blog postin, but will not allow me to post. Hope you don't mind VFC, as your posting is in similar vein.

    'Well said Monty - from my own experience of attending various meetings, court cases etc., where the media have been present, I have always taken good note of when they write notes and when they seem disinterested. I have then read the reports in the media and can tell how biased they are especially the JEP and CTV.

    Important facts are overlooked or misreported to suit the 'agenda' at the time. Indeed, reports appear under the names of journalists in the JEP who have not even been in attendance, so obviously the 'mis'information is shared amongst them.

    Disgraceful too that Chris Bright should respond to a genuine complaint in the manner you say he has. Maybe his 'masters' at the Claverley Group should be made aware of what goes on.

    Second instalment eagerly awaited!'

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  23. The Jersey Evening Post gets all "investigative". DESPERATE

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  24. Took a look at the new "Jersey Child Abuse Scandal" blog, which has links to this and other related blogs. Of the 10 listed recent visitors to the site, only one was from Jersey. Do you think your international readership is growing?

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  25. "Do you think your international readership is growing?"

    Indeed it is growing and at a healthy rate.

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  26. Can someone provide a link to new blog please.

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  27. Hi, VFC

    I have worked hard to increase awareness and interest in the Jersey child abuse cover-up here in America, and in Stuart Syvret's plight. There are probably many more of us who would love to know what percentage of your readership is outside of Jersey, but we have no way of knowing if people we give the info to are actually logging on to these blogs.

    Elle

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  28. http://jerseyabusescandal.blogspot.com/
    ?

    I don't see the point of it, just repeating other peoples blog entries?

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  29. Elle.

    Our American readership has grown significantly from being our fourth most popular country to third. So your much appreciated work might just be paying off.

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  30. Jersey's State Media perfectly summed up in just a few WORDS

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  31. Guido (Guy) Fawkes has been called before the Levenson Press standards Inquiry to explain how he was able to publish Alistair Campbell's proposed written evidence on his Guido blog (linked to this site).

    Guido has removed the information from his blog but a version of it still appears on the maryann martinek blogspot.

    It is well worth studying by anybody who claims to have any conerns with or about media standards. It is certainly a far better account than anything that is likely to arise in Jersey because Campbell is able to draw upon extraordinary inside knowledge of government and the media at the highest and lowest levels.

    It is not necessary to like or dislike Mr Campbell - the words speak.
    Give it your time if you care about media standards.
    I have linked it on Facebook but perhaps somebody can link the martinek blogspot here?
    Tom Gruchy says

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  32. maryannmartinek blog link

    The Beano is not the Rag

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  33. Frankly, fcking appalling, and I am a journalist. Says somethinh when Guernsey has a far more critical culture of journalism than supposedly more indeoependent and demonstrably freer press than 'more forward looking' Jersey.

    Publishing on a par with 'I was only obeying orders' at Nuremburg. Or when deporting Jews during the Occupation: I don't think anyone accepted responsibility for that either... You must be so proud how far you've come in 60 something years.

    And yes I'm trying to be ironic, believe it or not I love he Islands, I just want you to be so much better than closed offshore tax havens run for the wealthy

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