A WESTMINSTER correspondent tweeted angrily five times this afternoon after a new independent news publication was allowed to ask a question during the First Minister’s daily press briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.

The Scotsman’s Paris Gourtsoyannis claimed that allowing Broadcasting Scotland to ask a question means the Scottish Government “loses all authority to comment on press standards or regulation, as a minimum”.

If the Scottish Government is giving questions to unregulated media at a nationally televised press conference during a pandemic, it loses all authority to comment on press standards or regulation, as a minimum — Paris Gourtsoyannis (@thistlejohn) April 21, 2020

In another tweet he urged the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists’ Association to inform the Government of the “consequences of treating partisan hobby blogs like national broadcasters”.

Speaking on a purely individual basis, hopefully the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists’ Association (I’m not a member) will point out to the Scottish Government the consequences of treating partisan hobby blogs like national broadcasters — Paris Gourtsoyannis (@thistlejohn) April 21, 2020

The writer then compared Broadcasting Scotland to the right-wing Guido Fawkes, saying allowing the site a question would be akin to the UK Government giving the Brexiteer site a question at daily briefings.

Mark McLaughlin, the politics and education correspondent at The Times, stood up for Broadcasting Scotland – and said Nicola Sturgeon’s response to their question had been “golden”.

I have no problem with partisan blogs getting questions at the briefing. They're asking the kind of questions partisan tweeters ask all the time.



And I thought @NicolaSturgeon's response was golden.



She made her feelings clear about anyone who tries to politicise this crisis — Mark McLaughlin (@mark_mclaughlin) April 21, 2020

He replied to Gourtsoyannis saying: “I have no problem with partisan blogs getting questions at the briefing.

“They’re asking the kind of questions partisan tweeters ask all the time.

“And I thought @NicolaSturgeon’s response was golden. She made her feelings clear about anyone who tries to politicise this crisis.”

But Gourtsoyannis wasn’t open to this point of view, telling McLaughlin: “Then she can give up the pretence of a press conference and answer Qs on Twitter, see who she reaches. Hope she gave a rocket to her comms team.”

Then she can give up the pretence of a press conference and answer Qs on twitter, see who she reaches. Hope she gave a rocket to her comms team after — Paris Gourtsoyannis (@thistlejohn) April 21, 2020

A Byline Times writer, James Doleman, also stepped in to tell the Scotsman reporter that the “media landscape is changing, might be worth trying to get your head round that”. Gourtsoyannis told him: “Hi James, I actually work in the media, getting my head round it means I have somewhere to live and food to eat, thanks.”

In another tweet, Gourtsoyannis replied to a comment from Angus Robertson thanking journalists working through the coronavirus crisis to say: “It’s a big thank you from him – just before the boss takes a question from Broadcasting Scotland.”

Broadcasting Scotland was set up as an independent site producing news and current affairs, music, comedy and chat programmes.

The broadcaster says it believes “it is important that Scotland should have an alternative broadcaster, trusted by viewers and which will provide quality original programming across all genres”.

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