The Guardian has closed the travel blog of Max Gogarty after the young writer’s initial post came under fire from readers.
But was this the right move by the paper? Was this a reaction to readers’ views or an attempt to control them?
Have your say in our online poll: was the Guardian right to shut down problem blog? (Brief Log-in required.)
Guardian shouldn’t have shut down in my opinion.They had a moderator (although he/she would have been in for alot of moderating!)A kid like Max writing with absoloooooooootely no sense of irony who lives “on top of a hill in North London”……………………………………. Hopefully the kid will have learnt something.
They were right to close it as everything had been said but they were totally wrong in printing two one sided articles in the prnt edition of the Observer about the affair.
No,they should have let it carry on.The real issue isn’t, as the Guardian tried,disgracefully, to have people believe, one of bullying and a mean-spirited mob.The real story was the shameful dishonesty of the Guardian’s damage-limitation excercise,so woefully inept that it beggars belief.First,the travel editor told us he had contacted Gogarty because he’d been impressed by the quality of the lad’s writing.As the boy had written nothing worth reading and went on to prove himself a woefully untalented writer, this explanation was soon dismissed.So the Guardian changed tack and published three articles by senior editorial staff abusing the readers.Priceless fatuity and a dead cert to inflame the readers.Nepotism was really a side issue.The real issue was the Guardian’s contempt for its readers.As a life-long Guardian reader, I’m so disgusted that I will not buy the paper again until the readers get an apology.
Hey Laura. Spotted you on Dan Wilson’s blog – the Max issue has made it as far as China Daily – I’m writing a piece on it for our students readers now. Hope you’re doing well, keep an eye out for My China Now short film festival – should be some good stuff coming over to the UK later this year.
Best,
Dave
Ps Max decided to withdraw the blog himself (see his dad’s comment), therefore your poll could be slightly misleading…
Hi Dave,
Lovely to hear from you and glad to hear things are going well.
Will you email me a link to your China Daily story when it’s done?
About the blog being closed – point taken, though Caroline Davies’ piece in the Observer suggests it was closed by mutual consent.
”Ps Max decided to withdraw the blog himself (see his dad’s comment)”
I doubt that severely.