(c) parentclub.scot
Here’s the Herald’s headline today for an ‘exclusive’ piece by Tom Gordon, Scottish Political Editor, on the results of the evaluation of the Baby Box:
‘Parents snub the box part of SNP’s baby box’
Here’s what an accurate headline by a responsible professional news agency should have looked like:
‘100% of parents satisfied with Baby Box and contents’
The Baby Box, you’ll remember is just one of the humane acts, typical of the SNP administration, which I’ve covered here – free care for the elderly and the disabled, free HE tuition, compensation for the bedroom tax phases 1 and 2, free sanitary products in schools and colleges, bus passes – this is a government for the people. See this recent piece for more detail:
How did the Herald get their mean little headline? Here are the actual evaluation results:
‘Research into parents’ views on the Scotland’s Baby Box shows 100% are either satisfied or very satisfied with the overall quality of the contents. Ninety-nine per cent of parents are also either satisfied or very satisfied with the range of items, the design of the box and delivery arrangements.
Other key findings show:
- Contents were all very highly rated – most popular items were the bathroom/room thermometer (32% said it was most useful item), ear thermometer (22%) and sling (15%)
- When asked spontaneously what was missing most parents (69%) could not think of any suggestions. The most common request (made by 10%) was for new-born nappies to be included
- The most popular idea for inclusion when prompted was a second sheet for the mattress (67% said this would be very or quite useful)
- The majority of parents (62%) had used or planned to use the box as a bed. The main reason given for not using the box as a sleeping space was that parents had already purchased an alternative or received one as a gift (86%)
- Most parents had read all of the information included. The two most popular inclusions were a poem for your wee one (97% said they had read or planned to read) and information on safe sleeping (93%).’
https://news.gov.scot/news/ticking-all-the-right-boxes
See it? 62% had used or planned to use the box as a bed so that means 38% must have ‘snubbed’ it. No evidence for the choice of word ‘snubbed’ is offered nor is the key piece of information, that they already had an alternative, considered.
The Herald headline is beyond contempt but still a useful reminder that you should never be tempted to buy a copy again. May they sink and sooner than later.
Talking-up Scotland 
Well said John. Gave up. My subscription minths ago having read the paper for 50 years. Tom Gordon is a fibber if the highest order.
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Thanks Harry. Coincidentally, 38% is the most I’d have given to a first-year, week 1, journalism student for writing it……if I felt sorry for them….if they looked like greetin….if they were a close relative…..
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Even Mr Chris Deerin in the New Statesman spoke highly of the baby box policy.
Did Jackboot Kaye have a phone-in this morning to allow carpers to kick baby boxes to pieces. I gave up the Herald years ago. After Ian Bell died, it had name quality, before he died he was just about all there was. The nadir was reached when they gave GRAHAM Speirs the bullet for daring to criticise The Queen’s Eleven and then, appallingly dismissed Angela Haggerty from another paper, for tweeting support as an NUJ member. Utterly disgraceful – not even fit for toilet paper.
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I’m going to bring my wonderful Australian education and upbringing into play,
The Herald is bloody brilliant..
When ya run outta dunny roll and need to wipe ya arse on sumthin desperately!
But in sayin that, Me and the mob wouldn’t have that Warwick Crapper in me house, let alone me dunny!
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A pitiful Herald article by the so called political editor. I used to admire the Herald as a quality newspaper, having trouble remembering when I actually thought that though….,
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Haven’t bought that thing since the days of their last journalist Murray Ritchie. It is a stain on the Scottish character that it still exists.
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I bought the Scotsman from the 70’s to the 90’s, mostly for the letters page, though in the early years it was simply a great paper (though getting ransacked by Roy Thompson to fund the London Times—then by the Barclay Bros). The paper inevitably declined and I switched to the Glasgow Herald.
What can I say? The Glasgow Herald morphed to simply The Herald–now it might as well be the North British Herald, and the paper is journalistic tripe. It sacked its staff, but continues to be profitable to its foreign owners, which is all that apparently counts.
So in my lifetime two pretty good papers, with extended and distinguished histories, have gone down the tubes in our small country. Ironically matching the dreadfully low standards of the broadcasting industry based here.
Scotland has been left with no trustworthy, go-to news outlet at the most important period in our history for 70 years. Sad, indeed.
I understand Holyrood has some control of the newpaper industry. Its a pity that Leveson didn’t encourage a response from the Scottish government as to quality and diversity in our press.
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Yes very sad. I used to do the Scotsman crossword every day on the train to work. Andrew Neil played a big part in dragging it to the right. One of the only UK papers to criticise the Sinai campaign in 56
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Andrew Neil-spit.
There was a BBC Scotland politics show in the early 70,s I watched ( when they had journalists, and ethical reporting) , it might have been Current Affairs? ,but not so sure. Anyway I recall the first sightings of Malky Rifkind, just back from Rodesia ( as was) who looked just weird, and spoke like someone from a different planet. And Andrew Neil, who on that appearance, would have said ANYTHING just to get a were pat on his head.
Who would have predicted a political future from these two losers. Not me!
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Gavin, re A Neil, you can’t pat his head now in case the weave comes loose.
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As an east coaster l always chose to read The Scotsman. When Andrew Neil became the chief editor wrote to The Scotsman and stated l would never again buy the paper and l haven’t .
They replied with platitudes but to no avail.
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If this was balanced journalism it would have been produced by a journalist who specialises in child care not one who specialises in attacking everything the Scottish Government does or says
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