Monday 24 November 2014

THE NATIONAL


According to Twitter, it sold out today and the print run has been increased for tomorrow.

Any comments on the paper so far?


37 comments:

  1. My only beef with the National is that it is from the very Corporation that maliciously opposed the indyref. Then again this indyref taught me in politics there is no such thing as a straight path. We must make do with what we are given...[retak menanti belah].

    p/s: It's not likeI get to buy/read Sunday Herald & National :PPP

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    1. That's true AHAH, but remember that the Sunday Herald was for a long time the only reasonably balanced paper, and the only paper to switch and become openly for independence. Kita mesti bersyukur dengan kemurahan kecil!

      (I hope that makes sense.)

      Ha ha... I'm really surprised you can't get Scottish papers ... Actually a lot of people were disappointed yesterday because, even in Scotland, they couldn't get the National!

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  2. It lacks something, punchy headlines and first paragraphs perhaps. I guess we have become so used to online media in the independence movement that reading a paper again seems such a flat experience. I think the opportunity for a few exclusives would help.

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    1. Hi Craig: I think that it may improve as a paper and get bedded in, once it gets past its initial trial period. As they say, launching a paper in this day and age is a counter intuitive move... at the moment they obviously haven't taken on staff, so it's kind of been fitted in around other things... and the decision to start it was taken a very short time ago.

      I'll give it some time to develop I think.

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    2. It makes senses but not contextually correct ;P Got to love Google

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  3. I think we're tending to forget here, on online sites, that print newspapers are for those who don't, or can't access the internet.
    As you say Tris, it needs to bed down 1st, establish a regular readership of not just those of us buying it to support our political aims, but the disillusioned Labour, Lib Dem and unaffiliated, who need a daily newspaper which will report and investigate the news in an unbiased and unthreatening way. Our independence message should be introduced in a gradual, non-confrontational way to this new readership, by good, well-respected journalists, who research and investigate stories properly before they are printed and published.
    This new readership should be nurtured along, not beaten about the heid with stuff they can't handle yet.

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    1. I totally agree with you HV.

      I'd love to see an unbiased newspaper which would tell it, as near as it can, as it is.

      The news sections of newspapers should contain news, reported as close as possible to how it actually is. What we need is a paper that delivers the news in that way.

      Of course, any paper is also going to have opinion pieces that reflect the views of its management. Clearly in this case, that is going to be biased in favour of independence. But I see no reason why there should be some balance even in that.

      I wish the paper well. We need something that reaches the people that the internet does not.

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  4. Just finished the second copy of the National, a good enough read and will improve with time I am sure. Coverage is good enough and not any worse that those ahem "established" Newspapers, which if you buy them and look through them are full of advertisements and not much else. I am obviously not a good critic as my Newspaper reading was reduced to nothing over the past six or seven years as I disagreed with most of the tripe they printed. I would like to see the banner on the front page removed, that they support Independence. If they continue to print the truth and not press releases as per the rest of the MSM I will be happy. Let them investigate what needs investigating. I am sure that the Independence movement is well able to look after itself and all it needs is a fair shake, not the lies that all the rest printed during the referendum.

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    1. Exactly.

      I have no problem with them declaring their support for independence, but I think it will become unnecessary once they are established.

      I'd like to think that they would advocate the best for Scotland regardless of politics.

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    2. If Abu Haimi cannot get hold of a copy in Malaysia what chance have I got here on the edge of civilisation? I went to buy a copy of a newspaper yesterday for the first time in ages and they were 'sold out'. Will the paper have Davidson, Baillie and Curran on page three?

      Incidentally. I have fragrant memories of the Butterworth/Penang ferry!

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    3. I didn't know you had newspapers up there.

      There's not much point in sending them to the islands; they are written in English.

      Seriously, a lot of people couldn't get a copy yesterday which is why they appear to have doubled the print run. (If they had any of your pin ups on page three, do you really think THAT would have heppend...well unless people have a lot of mice they want to scare!)

      I heard they may have Jim Murphy though, so that will be something to erm... look forward to.

      I hear that the weather up north is a lot nicer than it is here.

      Munguin says he may pop up for afternoon tea...around 4.

      Fragrant? What kind of fragrant?

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    4. Tris, I understand that for a variety of reasons Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury did not stock the paper. The weather here was icy around 6.30 this morning but it is a very pleasant day now so I'm off out to fish for some haddock/mackeral for my tea. Och, the penalties of being far from civilisation!

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    5. Did you get anything for tea?

      Morrison's still didn't have it today. Seriously disappointed in them.

      I now do most of my shopping at Aldi, Lidl and Home Bargains, so I've not been near the others. We don't even use the word A**A in our household!

      Has anyone seen any of the supermarkets stocking it?

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  5. Tris

    I bought it yesterday and today and not overly impressed to be honest but I am sure that if there is a market for it and it remains it will develop into something different. I hope that is what happens but I am so cynical of the media now and the owners who promote their agenda that I prefer blogs for my news now. I tend to get far more interesting news from blogs like this one and twitter that my days of ever trusting the media will be forever gone.

    However, I will continue to purchase the National until such time it betrays my trust and I really hope that doesn't happen. It has also been funny looking at the reaction from certain unionists, they must live their lives in perpetual fear these days. They used fear as their campaign tool in the referendum and are now living under it due to the awakening of many people for change. You do wonder who won and lost the hearts and minds.

    Either way will continue to purchase and keep an eye on.

    Bruce

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    1. You're right there, Bruce.

      We lost the referendum and the news has been bad for the winners since day 1.

      Now there's a news paper that doesn't take the London view.

      I think we should, as you say, give it a chance. Once it is established and can afford to pay columnists and dedicated staff, things should look up.

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  6. Bought it, yesterday; found it buried under the detritus that normally passes for a paper. Bought it again this morning, above the detritus; things are looking up.
    It's an easy read, not as in depth as many a blog; but a good start.

    JimnArlene

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    1. I think it has to pitch itself carefully if it going to meet the entire audience, Jim.

      If it's too highbrow it will lose readers; if it's too lowbrow it will loose readers.

      It's not an easy place to find in today's market, but I thought a reasonable start and I'm glad it's there.

      I notice Morrisons still didn't have any today. Black mark!




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  7. Yep got copy of Mcpravda and made a jolly good use of it

    here

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    1. As someone pointed out, when all other daily papers are unionist biased, and then one paper comes along that is independence biased, it would take a strange mind to start complaining about that newspaper being the equivalent of Pravda, which you will remember was pretty much exclusive.

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    2. Thanks for your contribution to the cause Niko...

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    3. Bless him... He's not that bad after all...

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  8. tris


    See history does repeat itself ,mass membership surge ,publishing own
    newspapers deification of leader and nation next all you have to do is annexe
    the Sudetenland and invade Poland............and yer away

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    1. Niko, I take it you're referring to UKIP ?

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    2. I think you'd find that Nicola would have to gas a lot of people whose religion she disagreed with, or who had darker coloured skin, or who were homosexual or in some way disabled before that would be a reasonable argument.

      Seems to me the Scottish government has gone out of their way to be helpful to disabled people, overriding the English oriented welfare cuts for example ... they have introduced gay marriage, so I assume that means that they aren't homophobic... they include people of Asian and Italian descent in their ministerial ranks, and of French decent in their MSPs, so I assume they don't have a problem with people of different ethnicity, or nationality... They want to stay in the EU and allow freedom of movement, so I'm assuming they don't have a problem with Europeans living here.

      I've never heard any of them talk about religion at all, unlike the leader in London who insists that "we" are a Christian country, so I guess they don't have much of a hang up about it.... and as for invading other countries, which is the party that wants to get rid of the WMDs and which voted against invading Iraq?.

      Yeah, ypour argument is looking a little on the thin side.

      Maybe the Labour Party having joined forces with the Tories, following right wing policies and talking at each others' conferences like they simply went to different public schools (which they did), is the reason that people in left of centre Scotland want to join the pnly parties (because the Greens and the SSP have seen enormous hikes in their membership too.

      And maybe with 45% of the adult population having no daily newspaper that talks to their politics, and the Sunday paper that did seeing a massive increase in sales, the publishers just thought to themselves they were missing a trick....

      Possible?

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    3. Nazi jibe again Nico¿ You really must learn to be more original.
      McPravda was actually, a soubriquet, given to the BBC in Scotland.

      Besides Pravda means truth, Mc Pravda would be son of truth ( mixed languages of course), never could that be applied to the BBC northern sector.

      JimnArlene

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    4. LOL... that's true.

      Of course the Soviet Pravda never told a lie either!!!

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    5. Niko,

      What on earth are you rambling on about Poland etc, there's at least 35 papers aimed at unionists, which in my opinion is far more anti democratic, one newspaper comes along aimed at nationalist, and the unionist decriers scream blue murder, have you any idea how absurd you sound, No? I thought not.

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    6. Hmmm... Asking Niko a question like that LOL!

      He enjoyed sounding absurd...

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  9. Where can I buy a copy in Inverness?

    Anybody?

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    1. Nigel I'm sorry, I can't help you...

      Anyone? There must be somewhere. They would be daft not to stock it there. Inverness voted yes...

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    2. Now appearing W.H Smith this morning, 26th, here in Dunfermline they were not stocking it at first so Nigel you could try there, I cannot remember if you have one. RS McCall were stocking from the start.

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  10. Nigel. Have you tried the Co-op? That's where I got mine, up here in Caithness. If you can get it in Caithness, you can get it anywhere. No point going to Tesco or Morrisons because they have already said they will not stock it. Don't seem to care about their shareholders' profits. Bad cess to them, then.

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    1. I got a Tweet from Tesco saying that after the trial period was out they would 'consider' stocking it because they were mindful of what their customers wanted...

      I wonder if they did that to the "I" when it started...

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  11. Thx Veg-will try the co-op in the morn-cheers

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  12. This is our Bruce's post on foodbanks... and Christmas.

    100% in agreement.

    https://grumpyscottishman.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/looking-forward-to-christmas-but/

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  13. AHAH...

    I know how Google gets it wrong.

    I've put stuff in in English and read the French translation and it's sent me into fits of laughter...

    It's good for the odd word that you don;t know, but pretty crap for anything else...

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