Press Awards Whinger REVEALED

[Update at end of post]

Next month sees the ceremony for this year’s British Journalism Awards, to be held at Stationers’ Hall in London. Press Gazette runs the awards: as the blurb says, “The British Journalism Awards, launched partly as a response to the hacking scandal and the Leveson inquiry - aim to celebrate and promote great journalism which is both interesting to the public AND in the public interest”. The operation also requires sponsorship.

Old Dog with no New Tricks

And this has been picked up by the Guardian’s Roy Greenslade, who tells “Journalism awards' judges object to Impress sponsorship … Press Gazette under fire over decision to accept money from an organisation that does not regulate any of the newspapers being considered for prizes … A storm is brewing over the decision by Press Gazette to accept sponsorship for this year’s British journalism awards from Impress”.

Do go on. “Judges have raised the issue with the magazine’s editor, Dominic Ponsford, arguing that the choice of Impress, the regulator founded as a rival to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), is inappropriate … The objectors see Impress as a state-backed body that presents a threat to press freedom. It has recently received official recognition under the royal charter on press regulation”.

So exactly how many objectors are we talking about here? “One of the judges, speaking on an off-the-record basis, said he would pursue the matter today (Friday) during what will be the second stage of judging … He said that, given the fact that Impress does not regulate any of the newspapers responsible for the journalistic output under consideration, it was wrong for Press Gazette to allow them to be sponsors”. There was more.

“The complaining judge said Ponsford ‘has been given 24 hours to sort it out’, although it is unclear what would happen should the situation remain the same … A boycott of the awards by newspapers seems unlikely, although some editors are exercised by any contact with Impress”. Impress is one of thirteen sponsors, and Ipso, the sham press regulator backed by most of the press, is in there too.

What we have here is one judge of less than perfect courage, claiming that there is a revolt brewing, and that there is a number of judges plural who have raised the issue of Impress being one of the sponsors. At this point, my bullshit detector sounded long and loud. This sounds like a gobshite making mischief - someone who knows how to slip the odd smear to another journalist, knows how to pressure and embarrass their target.

Who might this rogue judge be? As Cilla might have said, shall we have a look and find out? Oh look, down almost at the bottom of the list of judges - they’re listed in name order - is one Neil “Wolfman” Wallis, former editor of the Sunday People and deputy editor of the late and not at all lamented Screws, who was so inept he did not know he was part of a borderline criminal organisation which was hacking phones on an industrial scale.

My Occam’s razor says Neil Wallace is Greenslade’s informant. BUSTED.

[UPDATE 5 November 1350 hours: IMPRESS has been removed as a sponsor of the British Journalism Awards. It seems the shit-stirring of Neil Wallis has managed to rope in some of the other judges and Dominic Ponsford has had to make the decision to maintain group harmony.

The clear petty vindictiveness on display here may repel many not familiar with the viciously unpleasant modus operandi of the likes of Wallis. But as he is devoid of conscience, he will not allow the news to cause him to stop and think. That kind of thing is for the little people]