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Journalism plumbs new depths

Dave_P

By Dave_P
in General Boating

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BMC problems

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Posted

"It is time for CRT to enter into a transparent and constructive dialogue with the continuous cruising users of the waterways, and to cease prohibitive, unclear and constantly changing measures for how continuous cruisers can maintain their licenses and their homes. These positions have been much more eloquently presented to you by boat dwellers themselves, and they must be addressed by CRT."

 

S'funny - thought he was writing to complain about the language someone used in conversation.

 

Anyone would think that the writer had another agenda altogether...

Reads to me as if he ran out of steam after the "I never said that" and the rest of the drivel is a simple cut and pasts from various CRT press releases.

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Wanderer Vagabond Influencer

Wanderer VagabondDonate to Canal World

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I look forward to the deafening silence of the apologies;

 

http://kanda.boatingcommunity.org.uk/an-open-letter-to-matthew-symonds-and-crt/

 

E-mailed to Matthew Symonds and CRT Customer Feedback.

 

An Open Letter Re: Article: 'CRT Relationship Manager: Liveaboards are 'gits'. K&A Boating Community website, 30th April 2016.

 

Dear Matthew,

 

I'm not sure that you'd remember me, although we've crossed paths a few times over the years.

 

The first was at an event back in 2007. I was working as Bristol's Race Forum Development Worker, and you were giving an update to the voluntary sector about the latest local authority strategies.

 

The second time was in 2011 when I toured you around Bristol Wood Recycling Project during their birthday celebration. I was recently in post as an Employee Director, and you'd accepted our invitation on behalf of the organisation you were working for. I enjoyed our chats as I showed you around, and we talked at length about the work that we were both doing.

 

The third time was earlier this year, as I was leaving a training session with former colleagues of yours. It was the 4th February to be exact, and we were hovering on the pavement outside the Southville Centre as you passed by and stopped for a quick hello with those that you knew. It was this conversation that forms the source of the comments that you state. via Twitter, are certainly not something I've ever said. But you did say them Matthew, and you said them twice.

 

As the group of us swelled with people leaving the training session, twice you were directly asked about your new job as Strategy and Engagement Manager at CRT, as your former colleagues were genuinely interested as to how it was going. Twice you commented that you loved your job, 'aside from the gits on the liveaboards'. In fact, I recollect they were the only two comments that you made specifically about your job, suggesting to me that they may have been the two most pressing things on your mind when you thought about your work.

 

From my previous encounters with you, I was surprised and disappointed to hear those words coming from you, however much you may have meant them in jest or good humour. Whilst I appreciate that CRT endeavours to balance a number of needs in relation to the canal network, and understand that those needs may at times be in conflict, making even offhand comments about a section of the beneficiaries of CRT is indeed a serious cause for concern. Furthermore, while you have publically made pains to reinforce the fact that CRT is not a public body, and therefore you are not a public officer, your specific role does include managing and developing relationships across the canal network. My confidence in your ability to do that fairly, and with the needs of all beneficiaries equally in your mind waned on that day, and this is why I have spoken with boat dwelling friends about our encounter and the broader issues with CRT.

 

To hear now that you have publically stated, via Twitter, It is not something I would ever say and Certainly not something I've ever said is even more disappointing. While I appreciate that you may regret that these words have now entered a public sphere, I'm displeased to think that you would deny they were ever spoken.

 

And don't get me wrong, I was as surprised as you to hear that conversations I have had about our encounter are now in written form swirling around the internet. From my part, I did not write nor publish the article written about you, and nor do I know the writer. But I do know that former colleagues of yours looked uncomfortably over at me when you made the git comment as they know I have long been planning to move onto the canal, and also know that I have close ties with members of the boating community around the Kennet and Avon and beyond.

 

Prior to this role at CRT you had a strong track record in neighbourhoods and communities work, but something is clearly going wrong. And while I don't want my sharing of your words to become a witch-hunt against you, as you are merely a functionary within a bigger organisation with a strategy in place for management of the waterways, they do lead me to question the current culture, structure and decision-making body at CRT as a whole.

 

While, as Wikipedia points out, git is usually an insult, more severe than twit or idiot but less severe than wanker, arsehole or twat, it is not the strength of the insult that is the issue. It is a derogatory comment about a section of the canal community just at the time that the Canal and River Trust is being publically challenged to be accountable, consistant and transparent as to the rules and stipulations that those license holders who are continuously cruising are expected to adhere to.

 

It is time for CRT to enter into a transparent and constructive dialogue with the continuous cruising users of the waterways, and to cease prohibitive, unclear and constantly changing measures for how continuous cruisers can maintain their licenses and their homes. These positions have been much more eloquently presented to you by boat dwellers themselves, and they must be addressed by CRT.

 

Yours sincerely,

This isn't quite the same as competent journalism so I don't see that any apologies are required. Correct me if my understanding of what happened is mistaken but it seems to me that whilst leaving the Southville Centre on 4th February (taken rather a long time to feel insulted by itunsure.png ) Yaz Brien claims to have overheard Symonds making the alleged comments. He in turn has then passed on these comments to an unidentified third party who has then constructed the article on the 'strength' of them. Following denials in the Twittersphere Brien has then emerged to claim that he was the one who overheard the comments but has no idea who published the story but is 'disappointed' with Symonds. If it were an example of competent journalism the 'unidentified third party' who published the article should have been the one to confront Symonds about it before publishing and then reported both the allegation and Symonds response (or lack of). Given that the alleged incident is now three months old the publisher could even have thought about getting some corroboration to the allegation of Brien, I'm sure that he could remember one or two other people at the event. Why he/she hasn't done that only they will know.

 

It seems to me that the whole purpose of the exercise was to generate a Twitterstorm, an intent that seems to have been largely successful.

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RobMcD Explorer

RobMcD

Posted
Posted

I'm sure most of us have been called worse as I know I have, water off a ducks back in my opinion. Now get him on films talking about how he really feals and thats a different matter. Get your cam's out and film all interations with CRT that come a knocking, people soon change there tune when a camera is pointing at them :)

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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Posted (edited)

I presume that in the interest of good journalism, Matthew's response has also been posted on the kanda website. Must admit I couldn't see it, but I'm sure it's there.

 

It's there now.....

 

Linky.

 

EDITED TO ADD

 

And this subsequently.

Edited by alan_fincher
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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
Posted (edited)

....

 

This has all the hallmarks of mischief making and by a former forum member too...

 

Nice swift edit(!)

 

The person you referred to is not who I would come up with as the likely mischief maker, (although coincidentally I think it is probably his pair of boats that feature as the header picture on the K&A site).

 

However I would say a lot of the articles that appear on that K&A site are penned by a current forum member, who also writes for NBW. If I'm right the K&A Community site and NBW seem strange bedfellows, but I'm sure I spot a common link in the writing styles!

Edited by alan_fincher
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Posted
Posted

Nice swift edit(!)

The person you referred to is not who I would come up with as the likely mischief maker, (although coincidentally I think it is probably his pair of boats that feature as the header picture on the K&A site).

However I would say a lot of the articles that appear on that K&A site are penned by a current forum member, who also writes for NBW. If I'm right the K&A Community site and NBW seem strange bedfellows, but I'm sure I spot a common link in the writing styles!

Fair enough.

 

I stick by my theory though, I would wager he is active in the background at the very least.

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Posted
Posted (edited)

I'll stick to my theory as well!

I wonder who set up and manages the KANDA website?

 

Such things don't come cheap, unless you have someone that can do that for you at 'mates rates'.

Edited by MJG
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Posted
Posted

I know...

 

(Both bits :) )

Begs the question then why you pretended not to know the EPL thing....

 

But never mind, I suspect I know.

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Witchword Collaborator

Witchword

Posted
Posted

Unfortunately whatever the weaknesses of the journalism, MS has been very unwise, with these remarks and the Facebook stuff linked to above. A former colleague of mine was forced to resign after posting a derogatory remark on FB about someone at another school, while name checking the one she worked at. Much less public but someone complained, a parent perhaps, and she was out. You just can't do it in a public facing role- and the more public your role the more careful you have to be.

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Wanderer Vagabond Influencer

Wanderer VagabondDonate to Canal World

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Unfortunately whatever the weaknesses of the journalism, MS has been very unwise, with these remarks and the Facebook stuff linked to above. A former colleague of mine was forced to resign after posting a derogatory remark on FB about someone at another school, while name checking the one she worked at. Much less public but someone complained, a parent perhaps, and she was out. You just can't do it in a public facing role- and the more public your role the more careful you have to be.

I'm not sure how posting something on FB can be regarded as '..much less public...'. You are putting up a written record of your opinion and once posted you have effectively lost all control over it, it can very easily 'go viral'. You'd then be struggling to deny having made the comment when it can be linked to your FB profile, you can try the old chestnut 'I must have been hacked', but few people are going to believe it. An off the cuff remark (assuming that the remark was in fact made, which you seem to be assuming that it was) can be denied or even claim to have been misheard ( I actually said," I love it except for all those wits on liveaboards" rolleyes.gif (J for Joke!)).

 

Ultimately if KANDA do manage to get Symonds out of the job it will be something of a Pyrrhic victory since CRT will just appoint someone else, probably with similar views into the role, or perhaps even more aggressive viewsunsure.png

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