I don't think i would like to see the M.E.N go but i think they would really benefit from restructuring the sports desk.
You can't have a nutter like Spencer who cries about utd's demise on every media platform available in a hysterical manner as a head of a dept.
I am not saying it due to him being red, i would say the same if he was blue, this is a customer confidence issue in the main and you want considered calm people in charge i would think.
The chief editor bloke trying to give a "meh it's fine" attitude if he really believes this will see the paper suffer in the long run imo.
It is the same as me sending a batch of stuff (legal work produce) out at 93% purity when the contract demands 98% and me saying "meh no worries" when it is returned.
My customer now has real life confidence loss in myself and business practise, i know this can hurt companies, i have seen it 4-5 times up close.
The editor needs to stand up and say "This was unacceptable as a main article in our publication, we need to reconsider our qc practices and will endeavour to make sure only researched articles ever go in beyond a personal opinions section.
We apologize to our readers who expect the best reporting standards from ourselves at all times." or something to that effect.
Have a personal opinion section, no problem but when you mix that within areas where people expect a more balanced, professional, researched and generally considered article your going to have trouble.
Good reporters will give their own unique perspective and attitude in a piece of course and we would not want them to become automatons with no personality of theirs infused into their work.
They know how far they can go in general though and follow codes of the trade.
